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3.  HEALING  AND  SERVICE  and  other  Sermons  preached  in  1885.  i.oo 

4.  PLEADING  FOR  PRAYER  and  other  Sermons  preached  in  1886.  i.oo 

5.  THE  BEST  ERE  AD  and  other  Sermons  preached  in  1887,      -         -  i.oo 

6.  LORD  AND  LEPER,  and  other  Sermons  preached  in  1888  -        -  i.oo 

7.  PRESENT  TRUTH.     lamo i.oo 

8.  TYPES  AND  EMBLEMS,     ismo i.oo 

Q.     STORM  SIGNALS i.oo 


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LECTURES  TO  MY  STUDENTS  ;  A  Selection  from  Addresses 
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ropolitan Tabernacle.  By  C.  H.  Spurgeon,  President. 
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"  We  have  read  this  work  with  a  feeling  very  nearly  ap- 
proaching to  delight.  Nothing  that  Mr.  Spurgeon  has  printed 
has  so  thoroughly  pleased  us,  and  few  of  his  works  are  calcu- 
lated to  be  of  greater  practical  service.  It  abounds  in  words 
of  wisdom  ;  it  is  rich  in  humor,  but  richer  in  human  and  spir- 
itual experience." — Nonconformist. 

"  Mr.  Spurgeon  has  selected  topics  of  practical  importance, 
such  as  the  call  to  the  ministry,  the  preacher's  private  prayer, 
sermon  matter,  the  arrangement  of  the  voice,  impromptu 
speech,  the  choice  of  a  text,  and  the  like  ;  and  on  each  and  all 
of  the  themes  thus  taken  up  he  has  much  to  say  that  is  worth 
hearing,  and  he  says  it  in  a  way  that  at  once  enlists  the  read- 
er's attention.  Every  point  is  illustrated  in  a  forcible,  homely 
style,  and  pulpit  anecdotes  of  the  most  interesting  character 
abound  in  these  pages." — T/te  Rock. 

Second    Series    of    'LECTURES    TO     MY    STUDENTS." 

With  Illustrations  of  Posture  and  Action.     i2mo  .  |i.oo 

"The  Lectures  on  'Posture,  Action,  Gesture,  &c.'  abound 
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lutely perfect.  Mr.  Spurgeon's  remarks  on  action  are  illus- 
trated with  about  forty  engraved  figures,  which  must  be  seen 
to  be  aoDreciated." — Christian  World. 

COMMENTING    AND    COMMENTARIES:      Two    Lectures 

addressed    to   the   Students   of  the  Pastors'  College, 

Metropolitan  Tabernacle,  together  with  a  Catalogue 

of  Bible  Commentaries  and  Expositions.    i2mo.  |r.oo 

"  Every  candid  reader  will  admit  that,  in  impartiality,  in 
terse  and  telling  brevity,  in  wisdom  sharpened  into  wit,  in  un- 
affected zeal  for  Christ's  cause,  and,  above  all,  in  robust  com- 
mon sense,  this  volume  has  few  equals,  if  any." 

— Literary   World. 


ROBERT  CARTER  &  BROTHERS,  530  Broadway,  N.  Y. 


SECOND    SERIES 


OF 


LECTURES  TO  MY  STUDENTS: 


ADDRESSES    DELIVERED     TO     THE    STUDENTS     OF 

THE    PASTORS'    COLLEGE,   METROPOLITAN 

TABERNACLE. 


o.  xi/ 3:RXj:E=LO-E]onsr, 


NEW  YORK: 

ROBERT    CARTER    &    BROTHERS, 

530  Broadway, 

1889. 


CONTENTS 


Introduction .     .     o     .     .     vii 

The  Pastors'  CoLiiEOE xi 

LECTURE    I. 

The  Holy  Spirit  in  Connection  with  Our  Ministry    .     15 

lecture   II. 

The  Necessity  of  Ministerial  Progress     .     «     -     .     .     4G 

lecture     III. 

The  Need  of  Decision  for  the  Truth   ......     69 

lecture  IV. 
Open  Air  Preaching — A  Sketch  of  Its  History.     .     .     91 

lecture  v. 
Open  Air  Preaching — Remarks  Thereon  ...         .  122 

lecture  VI. 
Posture,  Action,  Gesture,  etc 150 

lecture  vii. 
Posture,  Action,  Gesture,  etc.  (Second  Lecture)  .     .177 
Illustrations  of  Action 2U7 


VI  CONTENTS. 

LECTURE    VIII. 

Earnestness:  Its  Marring  and  Maintenance     .     «     .  215 

LECTURE    IX. 

The  Blind  Eye  and  the  Deaf  Ear   .     .     ,    o    c    .    o  215 

LECTURE    X. 

On  Conversion  as  Our  Aim    .     ,     ,     .,     e     o     .     o     .  264 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  former  series  of  my  lectures  met  with  a  welcome 
which  was  by  no  means  anticipated  by  their  author. 
Every  one  has  received  the  book  kindly,  and  some  have 
grown  enthusiastic  over  it.  To  the  gentlemen  of  the 
press  I  am  deeply  indebted  for  their  cordial  reviews,  to 
the  general  public  for  largely  purchasing,  but  specially 
to  the  many  individuals  who  in  private  letters  have 
spoken  of  the  work  in  approving  words,  which  I  am  not 
ungrateful  enough  to  forget,  nor  vain  enough  to  rei^eat. 
A  man  may  be  allowed  to  feel  glad  when  he  is  thanked 
for  having  been  of  service  to  his  fellow-men,  and  those 
men  the  ministers  of  the  Lord.  It  is  comforting  to  know 
that  you  have  aimed  at  usefulness,  pleasant  to  belie\e 
that  you  have  succeeded,  and  most  of  all  encouraging  to 
have  been  assured  of  it  by  the  persons  benefited.  With 
no  little  fear  and  trembling  the  former  lectures  were  sub- 
mitted to  the  public  eye,  but  the  result  is  now  looked 
back  upon  with  unusual  content.  As  in  duty  bound  and 
by  gratitude  prompted,  thanksgivings  to  God  are  hereby 


VIU  INTRODUCTION. 

very  earnestly  recorded,  and  indebtedness  is  also  ex- 
pressed to  kindly  hearts  wlio  have  given  my  addresses 
so  hearty  a  reception. 

One  result  of  the  unanimous  generosity  of  my  critics 
has  been  this  second  series  of  lectures  :  whether  this  will 
prove  to  be  a  fresh  trial  for  patience,  or  a  further  source 
of  satisfaction  to  my  readers,  time  alone  will  show.  I 
hope  the  lectures  are  not  worse  than  their  predecessors. 
In  some  respects  they  ought  to  be  better,  for  I  have  had 
three  years  more  experience  ;  but  there  is  one  valid  rea- 
son why  the  latter  should  hardly  be  expected  to  be  equal 
to  the  former,  and  it  is  this — the  subjects  are  not  numer- 
ous, and  the  first  choice  naturally  takes  off  the  cream,  so 
that  the  next  gathering  must  consist  of  minor  topics.  I 
hope,  however,  that  the  quality  has  not  very  seriously 
fallen  off,  and  that  the  charity  of  my  readers  will  not 
fail.  At  any  rate,  I  do  not  offer  that  which  has  cost  me 
nothing,  for  I  have  done  my  best  and  taken  abundant 
pains.  Therefore  with  clear  conscience  I  place  m}'  work 
at  the  service  of  my  brethren,  especially  hoping  to  have 
a  careful  reading  from  young  preachers,  whose  profiting 
has  been  my  principal  aim.  I  have  made  my  addresses 
entirely  for  students  and  beginners  in  preaching,  and  I 
beg  that  they  may  always  be  regarded  from  that  point 
of  view,  for  many  remarks  which  are  proper  enough  to 
be  made  to  raw  recruits  it  would  be  gross  impertinence 
to  place  before  masters  in  Israel.  The  intent  and  object 
wiU  be  borne  in  mind  by  every  candid  reader. 

I  seize  the  present  opportunity  to  call  attention  to  the 


INTEODUCTIOK.  IX 

second  of  my  three  books  for  students,  for  this  is  proj^er- 
ly  the  third.  I  allude  to  the  volume  entitled,  "  Comment- 
ing and  Commentaries.''  It  embodies  the  experience  and 
information  of  a  lifetime,  but  being  very  much  occupied 
with  a  Catalogue  of  Commentaries  it  cannot  commend 
itself  to  popular  tastes,  and  must  be  confined  in  its  cii'- 
culation  to  those  who  wish  for  information  upon  exposi- 
tory works.  To  my  own  surprise  it  is  in  the  tenth  thou- 
sand, but  numbers  of  readers  to  whom  it  might  be 
valuable  have  not  yet  seen  it.  As  almost  all  the  review- 
ers speak  of  it  with  much  praise,  I  think  it  will  be  worth 
any  young  man's  while  to  buy  it  before  he  gets  far  on  in 
the  formation  of  a  library. 

One  more  apology  and  note.  The  lectures  upon 
^^  Posture,  Gesture,  Action,  etc.,"  will  probably  be  judged 
to  make  too  much  of  a  secondary  matter.  I  wish  I  could 
think  so  myself.  My  own  observation  led  me  to  think 
them  needful,  for  it  has  scores  of  times  occurred  to  me 
to  lament  that  speakers  should  neglect  those  minor 
points  until  they  spoil  themselves  thereby.  It  matters 
little  how  a  man  moves  his  body  and  hands  so  long  as  he 
does  not  caU  attention  to  himself  by  becoming  ungainty 
and  grotesque.  That  many  do  this  is  a  fact  which  few 
will  deny,  and  my  motive  is  not  to  make  mirth  at  good 
men's  expense,  but  to  prevent  its  being  done  by  their 
hearers.  It  is  sad  to  see  the  Lord's  message  marred  by 
being  ill  told,  or  to  have  attention  taken  off  from  it  by  the 
oddities  of  the  messenger's  manner.  Could  those  who 
consider  me  to  be  trifling  only  see  the   results  of  bad 


X  INTRODUCTION. 

action,  as  they  are  seen  by  those  who  wish  that  they  did 
not  see  them,  they  would  discover  that  a  very  seriovis 
purpose  hes  beneath  the  somewhat  sarcastic  humor 
which  I  have  employed ;  and  if  they  also  believed,  as  I 
do,  that  such  evils  cannot  be  cured  except  by  exposing 
them  to  ridicule,  they  would  acquit  me  of  trifling,  even 
'.f  they  did  not  approve  of  my  mode  of  dealing  with  the 
evil. 

Hoping  that  some  benefit  may  accrue  to  the  rising 
race  of  preachers,  and  through  them  to  the  church  of 
God,  this  book  is  offered  to  the  Lord's  service  in  the 
hope  that  he  will  use  it  for  his  own  glory. 


THE  PASTORS'  COLLEGE. 


The  lectures  of  whicli  this  volume  is  composed  were 
delivered  at  the  Pastors'  College,  in  the  rear  of  the 
Metropolitan  Tabernacle,  and,  therefore,  we  take  the 
liberty  to  notice  that  Institution  in  these  pages.  To 
make  the  College  known,  and  to  win  for  it  willing 
friends,  is  confessedly  one  object  of  our  publications 
upon  the  ministry,  which  may,  indeed,  be  viewed  as 
merely  the  giving  forth  to  a  wider  area  the  instruction 
carried  on  within  the  College  waUs. 


Xll  THE   pastors'   COLLEGE. 

The  Institution  is  intended  to  aid  useful  preachers 
in  obtaining  a  better  education.  It  takes  no  man 
to  make  him  a  minister,  but  requires  that  its  pupils 
should,  as  a  rule,  have  exercised  their  gifts  for  at 
least  two  years,  and  have  won  souls  to  Jesus.  These 
we  receive,  however  poor  or  backward  they  may  be, 
and  our  endeavors  are  all  directed  to  the  one  aim, 
that  they  should  be  instructed  in  the  things  of  God, 
furnished  for  their  work,  and  practiced  in  the  gift  of 
utterance.  Much  prayer  is  made  by  the  Church  in 
the  Tabernacle  that  this  end  may  be  accomplished, 
nor  has  the  prayer  been  in  vain,  for  some  365  men 
who  were  trained  in  this  manner  are  now  declaring 
the  gospel  of  Jesus. 

Besides  the  students  for  the  regular  ministry,  several 
hundreds  of  street  preachers,  city  missionaries,  teachers 
and  workers  of  all  kinds  have  passed  through  our 
Evening  Classes,  and  more  than  200  men  are  now  with 
us,  pursuing  their  callings  by  day  and  studying  in  the 
evening.  We  ask  for  much  prayer  fi'om  all  our  breth- 
ren, that  the  supply  of  the  Spirit  may  sanctify  the 
teaching,  and  anoint  every  worker  for  the  service  of 
the  Lord. 

As  it  would  be  quite  unwarrantable  for  us  to  interfere 
with  the  arrangements  of  other  bodies  of  Christians,  who 
have  their  own  methods  of  training  their  ministers,  and 
as  it  is  obvious  that  we  could  not  find  sj^heres  for  men  in 
denominations  with  which  we  have  no  ecclesiastical  con- 
nection,   we   confine   our   College   to    Baptists;  and,    in 


THE  pastors'  college.  xiii 

order  not  to  be  harassed  with  endless  controversies,  we 
invite  those  only  who  hold  those  views  of  divine  truth 
which  are  popularly  known  as  Calvinistic, — not  that  we 
care  for  names  and  phrases  ;  but,  as  we  wish  to  be  un. 
derstood,  we  use  a  term  which  conveys  our  meaning  as 
nearly  as  any  descriptive  word  can  do. 

BeUeving  the  grand  doctrines  of  grace  to  be  the 
natural  accompaniments  of  the  fundamental  evangelical 
truth  of  redemption  by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  we  hold 
and  teach  them,  not  only  in  our  ministry  to  the  masses, 
but  in  the  more  select  instruction  of  the  class  room. 
Latitudinarianism  with  its  infidelity,  and  unsectarian- 
ism  with  its  intolerance,  are  neither  of  them  friends 
of  ours.  "We  delight  in  the  man  who  believes,  and 
therefore  speaks.  Our  Lord  has  given  us  no  per- 
mission to  be  liberal  with  what  is  none  of  ours.  We 
are  to  give  an  accouiit  of  every  truth  with  which  we 
are  put  in  trust. 

Our  means  for  condiicting  this  work  are  with  the  Most 
High  God,  possessor  of  heaven  and  earth.  We  have  no 
list  of  subscribers  or  roll  of  endowments.  Our  trust  is 
in  him  whom  we  desire  to  serve.  He  has  supported  the 
work  for  many  years  by  moving  his  stewards  to  send  us 
help,  and  we  are  sure  that  he  will  continue  to  do  so  as 
long  as  he  desu'es  us  to  pursue  this  labor  of  love.  We 
need  at  least  £120  every  week  of  the  year,  for  we  have 
113  men  to  board,  lodge,  and  educate,  preaching  stations 
to  hire,  and  new  churches  to  help.  Since  our  service  is 
gratuitous  in  every  sense,  we  the  more  freely  appeal  to 


XIV  THE   PASTORS'    COLLEGE. 

those  who  agree  with  us  in  believing  that  to  aid  an 
earnest  young  minister  to  equip  himself  for  his  life-work 
is  a  worthy  effort.  No  money  yields  so  large  a  return, 
no  work  is  so  important,  just  now  none  is  so  absolutely 
needful. 

C.  H.  Spurgeon. 
Nightingale  Lane,  Clapham,  Surrey, 


LECTURE  I. 

THE  HOLY  SPIRIT    IN  CONNECTION  WITH  OUR 
MINISTRY. 

I  HAVE  selected  a  topic  upon  which  it  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  say  anything  which  has  not  been  often  said  be- 
fore; but  as  the  theme  is  of  the  highest  imjDortance,  it  is 
good  to  dwell  upon  it  frequently,  and  even  if  we  bring 
forth  only  old  things  and  nothing  more,  it  ma}'  be  wise 
to  put  you  in  remembrance  of  them.  Our  subject  is 
"  The  Holy  Spirit  in  connection  with  our  ministry,"  or 
— the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  relation  to  ourselves  as 
iranisters  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ. 

"I BELIEVE  in  the  Holy  Ghost."  Having  pronomiiced 
that  sentence  as  a  matter  of  creed,  I  hope  we  can  also 
repeat  it  as  a  devout  soliloquy  forced  to  our  hps  by 
personal  experience.  To  us  the  presence  and  work  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  are  the  ground  of  our  confidence  as  to 
the  wisdom  and  hopefulness  of  our  life-work.  If  Ave  had 
not  believed  in  the  Holy  Ghost  we  should  have  laid 
down  our  ministry  long  ere  this,  for  "  who  is  sufficient 
for  these  things?  "  Our  hope  of  success,  and  our 
strength  for  continuing  the  service,  lie  in  our  belief  that 
the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  resteth  upon  us. 

I  will  for  the  time  being  take  it  for  granted  that  we 
are  all  of  us  conscious  of  the  existence  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
"We  have  said  we  ielieve  in  him ;  but  in  very  deed  we 
have  advanced  beyond  faith  in  this  matter,  and  have  come 
into  the  region  of  consciousness.     Time  was  when  most 


16  LECTUEES    TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

of  US  believed  in  the  existence  of  our  present  friends,  for 
we  had  heard  of  them  by  the  hearing  of  the  ear,  but  we 
have  now  seen  each  other,  and  returned  the  fraternal 
grip,  and  felt  the  influence  of  happy  comiDanionship,  and 
therefore  we  do  not  now  so  much  believe  as  know 
Even  so  we  have  felt  the  Spirit  of  God  operating  upon 
our  hearts,  we  have  known  and  perceived  the  power 
which  he  wields  over  human  spirits,  and  we  know  him 
by  frequent,  conscious,  personal  contact.  By  the  sensi- 
tiveness of  our  spirit  we  are  as  much  made  conscious  of 
the  presence  of  the  Spirit  of  G-od  as  we  are  made  cogni- 
zant of  the  existence  of  the  souls  of  our  fellow-men  by 
their  action  upon  our  souls,  or  as  we  are  certified  of  the 
existence  of  matter  by  its  action  upon  our  senses.  We 
have  been  raised  from  the  dull  sphere  of  mere  mind  and 
matter  into  the  heavenly  radiance  of  the  spirit-world; 
and  now,  as  spiritual  men,  we  discern  spiritual  things, 
we  feel  the  forces  which  are  paramount  in  the  spirit- 
realm,  and  we  know  that  there  is  a  Holy  Ghost,  for  we 
feel  him  operating  upon  our  spirits.  If  it  were  not  so, 
we  should  certainly  have  no  right  to  be  in  the  ministry  of 
Christ's  church.  Should  we  even  dare  to  remain  in  her 
membership  ?  But,  my  brethren,  we  have  been  spiritually 
quickened.  We  are  distinctly  conscious  of  a  new  life, 
with  all  that  comes  out  of  it:  we  are  new  creatures  in 
Christ  Jesus,  and  dwell  in  a  new  world.  We  have  been 
illuminated,  and  made  to  behold  the  things  which  eye 
hath  not  seen;  we  have  been  guided  into  truth  such  as 
flesh  and  blood  could  never  have  revealed.  We  have 
been  comforted  of  the  Spirit:  full  often  have  we  been 
lifted  up  from  the  deeps  of  sorrow  to  the  heights  of  joy 
by  the  sacred  Paraclete.  We  have,  also,  in  a  measure, 
been  sanctified  by  him;  and  we  are  conscious  that  the 
operation   of  sanctification   is   going   on   in   us   in   dif- 


THE    HOLY   SPIRIT.  17 

ferent  forms  and  ways.  Therefore,  because  of  all 
these  personal  experiences,  we  know  that  there  is  a 
H0I3'  Ghost,  as  surely  as  we  know  that  we  ourselves 
exist. 

I  am  tempted  to  linger  here,  for  the  point  is  worthy  of 
longer  notice.  Unbelievers  ask  for  phenomena.  The 
old  business  doctrine  of  Gradgrind  has  entered  into 
religion,  and  the  sceptic  cries,  "  What  I  want  is  facts." 
TJiese  are  our  facts  :  let  us  not  forget  to  use  them.  A 
sceptic  challenges  me  with  the  remark,  "  I  -cannot  pin  my 
faith  to  a  book  or  a  history;  I  want  to  see  present  facts." 
My  reply  is,  "  You  cannot  see  them,  because  your  eyes 
are  blinded;  but  the  facts  are  there  none  the  less. 
Those  of  us  who  have  eyes  see  marvellous  things,  though 
you  do  not."  If  he  ridicules  my  assertion,  I  am  not  at 
all  astonished.  I  expected  him  to  do  so,  and  should 
have  been  very  much  surprised  if  he  had  not  done  so  ; 
but  I  demand  respect  to  my  own  position  as  a  witness  to 
facts,  and  I  turn  upon  the  objector  with  the  inquiry — • 
"  What  right  have  you  to  deny  my  evidence  '?  If  I  were 
a  blind  man,  and  were  told  by  you  that  you  possessed  a 
f&xjulty  called  sight,  I  should  be  unreasonable  if  I  railed 
at  you  as  a  conceited  enthusiast.  All  you  have  a  right 
to  say  is — that  you  know  nothing  about  it,  bat  you  are 
not  authorized  to  call  us  all  liars  or  dupes.  You  may 
join  with  revilers  of  old  and  declare  that  the  spiritual 
man  is  mad,  but  that  does  not  disprove  his  statements. 
Brethren,  to  me  the  phenomena  which  are  produced  by 
the  Si)irit  of  God  demonstrate  the  truth  of  the  Christian 
religion  as  clearly  as  ever  the  destruction  of  Pharaoh  at 
the  Red  Sea,  or  the  fall  of  manna  in  the  wilderness,  01 
the  water  leaping  from  the  smitten  rock,  could  have 
proved  to  Israel  the  presence  of  God  in  the  midst  of  her 
tribes. 


18  LECTURES  TO  MY  STUDENTS. 

We  will  now  come  to  the  core  of  our  subject.  To  us, 
as  ministers,  the  Holy  Spirit  is  absolutely  essential. 
Without  him  our  office  is  a  mere  name.  We  claim  no 
priesthood  over  and  above  that  which  belongs  to  every 
child  of  God ;  but  we  are  the  successors  of  those  who,  in 
olden  times,  were  moved  of  God  to  declare  his  word,  to 
testify  against  transgression,  and  to  plead  his  cause. 
Unless  we  have  the  spirit  of  the  prophets  resting  upon 
us,  the  mantle  which  we  wear  is  nothing  but  a  rough 
garment  to  deceive.  We  ought  to  be  driven  forth  with 
abhorrence  from  the  society  of  honest  men  for  daring  to 
speak  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  if  the  Spirit  of  God  rests 
not  upon  us.  We  believe  ourselves  to  be  spokesmen  for 
Jesus  Christ,  appointed  to  continue  his  witness  ujjon 
earth  ;  but  upon  him  and  his  testimony  the  Spirit  of 
God  always  rested,  and  if  it  does  not  rest  upon  us,  we 
are  evidently  not  sent  forth  into  the  world  as  he  was.  At 
Pentecost  the  commencement  of  the  great  work  of  con- 
verting the  world  was  with  flaming  tongues  and  a  rush- 
ing mighty  wind,  symbols  of  the  presence  of  the  Spirit; 
if,  therefore,  we  think  to  succeed  without  the  Spirit,  we 
are  not  after  the  Pentecostal  order.  If  we  have  not  the 
Si)irit  which  Jesus  promised,  we  cannot  perform  the 
commission  which  Jesus  gave. 

I  need  scarcely  warn  any  brother  here  against  falling 
into  the  delusion  that  we  may  have  the  Spirit  so  as  to 
become  inspired.  Yet  the  members  of  a  certain  litigious 
modern  sect  need  to  be  warned  against  this  folly.  They 
hold  that  their  meetings  are  under  "  the  presidency  of 
the  Holy  Spiiit:"  concerning  which  notion  I  can  only 
say  that  I  have  been  unable  to  discover  in  holy  Script- 
ure either  the  term  or  the  idea.  I  do  find  in  the  New 
Testament  a  body  of  Corinthians  eminently  gifted,  fond 
of  speaking,  and  given  to  party  strifes^true  representa- 


THE   HOLY   SPIRIT.  19 

tives  of  those  to  whom  I  allude,  but  as  Paul  said  of  them, 
"  I  thank  God  I  baptized  none  ofi/ou,"  so  also  do  I  thank 
the  Lord  that  few  of  that  school  have  ever  been  found  in 
our  midst.  It  would  seem  that  their  assemblies  possess 
a  peculiar  gift  of  inspiration,  not  quite  j)erhaps  amount- 
ing to  infallibility,  but  nearly  approximating  thereto. 
If  you  have  mingled  in  their  gatherings,  I  greatly  ques- 
tion whether  you  have  been  more  edified  by  the  prelec- 
tions produced  under  celestial  presidency,  than  you  have 
been  by  those  of  ordinary  jJi'eachers  of  the  Word,  who 
only  consider  themselves  to  be  under  the  influence  of 
Ithe  Holy  Spirit,  as  one  spirit  is  under  the  influence  of 
another  Spirit,  or  one  mind  under  the  influence  of 
another  mind.  We  are  not  the  passive  communicators 
of  infallibility,  but  the  honest  teachers  of  such  things  as 
we  have  learned,  so  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  grasp 
them.  As  our  minds  are  active,  and  have  a  personal 
existence  while  the  mind  of  the  Sj^irit  is  acting  upon 
them,  our  infirmities  are  apparent  as  well  as  Ms  wisdom  ; 
and  while  we  reveal  what  he  has  made  us  to  know,  we 
are  greatly  abased  by  the  fear  that  our  own  ignorance 
and  error  are  in  a  measure  manifested  at  the  same  time, 
because  we  have  not  been  more  perfectly  subject  to  the 
divine  power.  I  do  not  suspect  that  you  will  go  astray 
in  the  direction  I  have  hinted  at:  certainly  the  results  of 
previous  experiments  are  not  likely  to  tempt  wise  men 
to  that  folly. 

This  is  our  first  question.  WJierein  may  ice  look  for 
the  aid  of  tlie  Holy  Spirit  ?  When  we  have  spoken  on  this 
point,  we  wUl,  very  solemnly,  consider  a  second — How 
may  we  lose  tJuit  assistatice  f  Let  us  pray  that,  by  God's 
blessing,  this  considei'ation  may  help  us  to  re.taiu  it. 

Wherein  may  we  look  for  the  aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit? 
I  should  reply, — in  seven  or  eight  waj'S. 


20  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS 

1.  First,  he  is  tlie  Spirit  of  knowledge, — "  He  shall  guide 
you  iuto  all  truth."  In  this  character  we  need  his  teach- 
ing. 

We  have  urgent  need  to  study,  for  the  teacher  of 
others  must  himself  be  instructed.  Habitually  to  come 
into  the  jjuljDit  unprepared  is  unjiardonable  presump- 
tion: nothing  can  more  effectually  lower  ourselves  and 
our  office.  After  a  visitation  discourse  by  the  Bishop  of 
Lichfield  upon  the  necessity  of  earnestly  studying  the 
Word,  a  certain  vicar  told  his  lordship  that  he  could 
not  believe  his  doctrine,  "  for,"  said  he,  "  often  when  I 
am  in  the  vestry  I  do  not  know  what  I  am  going  to 
talk  about  ;  but  I  go  into  the  pulpit  and  preach,  and 
think  nothing  of  it."  His  lordship  replied,  "  And  you 
are  quite  right  in  thinking  nothing  of  it,  for  your  church- 
wardens have  told  me  that  they  share  your  opinion." 
If  we  are  not  instructed,  how  can  we  instruct  ?  If  we 
have  not  thought,  how  shall  we  lead  others  to  think  ? 
It  is  in  our  study  work,  in  that  blessed  labor  when  we 
are  alone  with  the  Book  before  us,  that  we  need  the 
help  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  He  holds  the  key  of  the  heav- 
enly treasury,  and  can  enrich  us  beyond  conception  ;  he 
has  the  clue  of  the  most  labyrinthine  doctrine,  and  can 
lead  us  in  the  way  of  truth.  He  can  break  in  pieces  the 
gates  of  brass,  and  cut  in  sunder  the  bars  of  iron,  and 
give  to  us  the  treasures  of  darkness,  and  hidden  riches 
of  secret  places.  If  you  study  the  original,  consult  the 
commentaries,  and  meditate  deeply,  yet  if  you  neglect  to 
cry  mightily  unto  the  Spirit  of  God  your  study  will  not 
profit  you;  but  even  if  you  are  debarred  the  use  of  helps, 
(which  I  trust  you  will  not  be),  if  you  wait  upon  the 
Holy  Ghost  in  simjjle  dependence  upon  his  teaching, 
you  will  lay  hold  of  very  much  of  the  divine  meaning. 

The  Spirit  of  God  is  peculiarly  precious  to  us,  because 


THE  noLY  spiraT.  21 

he  especially  instructs  us  as  to  the  person  and  work  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  and  that  is  the  main  point  of  our 
preaching.  He  takes  of  the  things  of  Christ,  and  shows 
them  unto  us.  If  he  had  taken  of  the  things  of  doctrine 
or  precept,  we  should  have  been  glad  of  such  gracious 
assistance;  but  since  he  especially  dehghts  in  the  things 
of  Christ,  and  focuses  his  sacred  light  upon  the  cross, 
we  rejoice  to  see  the  centre  of  our  testimony  so  divinely 
illuminated,  and  we  are  sure  that  the  light  will  be  dif- 
fused over  all  the  rest  of  our  ministry.  Let  us  wait 
upon  the  Spirit  of  God  with  this  cry — "  O  Holy  Spirit, 
reveal  to  us  the  Son  of  God,  and  thus  show  us  the 
Father." 

As  the  Spirit  of  knowledge,  he  not  only  instructs  us 
as  to  the  gospel,  but  he  leads  us  to  see  the  Lord  in  all 
other  matters.  We  are  not  to  shut  our  eyes  to  God  in 
nature,  or  to  God  in  general  history,  or  to  God  in  the 
daily  occurrences  of  providence,  or  to  God  in  our  own 
experience ;  and  the  blessed  Spirit  is  the  interpreter  to 
us  of  the  mind  of  God  m  all  these.  Lf  we  cry,  "  Teach 
me  what  thou  wouldst  have  me  to  do;  or,  show  me 
wherefore  thou  contendest  with  me;  or,  tell  me  what  is 
thy  mind  in  this  precious  providence  of  mercy,  or  in  that 
other  dispensation  of  mingled  judgment  and  grace," — we 
shall  in  each  case  be  well  instructed;  for  the  Spirit  is 
the  seven-branched  candlestick  of  the  sanctuary,  and  by 
his  Ught  aH  things  are  rightly  seen.  As  Goodwin  well 
observes,  "  There  must  be  light  to  accompany  the  truth 
if  we  are  to  know  it.  The  experience  of  all  gracious 
men  proves  this.  What  is  the  reason  that  you  shall  see 
some  things  in  a  chapter  at  one  time,  and  not  at 
another;  some  grace  in  your  hearts  at  one  time,  and  not 
at  another;  have  a  sight  of  spiritual  things  at  one  time, 
and  not  at  another  ?     The  eye  is  the  same,   but  it  is  the 


22  LECTURES   TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

Holy  Grhost  that  openeth  and  shutteth  this  dark  lantern, 
as  I  may  so  call  it;  as  he  ojpeneth  it  wider,  or  contracts 
it,  or  shutteth  it  narrower,  so  do  we  see  more  or  less; 
and  sometimes  he  shutteth  it  wholly,  and  then  the 
soul  is  in  darkness,  though  it  have  never  so  good  an 
63'e." 

Beloved  brethren,  wait  upon  him  for  this  hght,  or  you 
will  abide  in  darkness  and  become  blind  leaders  of  the 
blind. 

2.  In  the  second  place,  the  Spirit  is  called  the  Spirit 
of  wisdom, -cind  we  greatly  need  him  in  that  capacity;  for 
knowledge  may  be  dangerous  if  unaccompanied  with 
wisdom,  which  is  the  art  of  rightly  using  what  we  know. 
Rightly  to  divide  the  Word  of  God  is  as  imjDortant  as 
fully  to  understand  it,  for  some  who  have  evidently  un- 
derstood a  part  of  the  gospel  have  given  undue  promi- 
nence to  that  one  portion  of  it,  and  have  therefore 
exhibited  a  distorted  Christianity,  to  the  injury  of  those 
who  have  received  it,  since  they  in  their  turn  have 
exliibited  a  distorted  character  in  consequence  thereof. 
A  man's  nose  is  a  prominent  feature  in  his  face,  but  it  is 
possible  to  make  it  so  large  that  eyes  and  mouth,  and 
everything  else  are  thrown  into  insignificance,  and  the 
drawing  is  a  caricature  and  not  a  portrait :  so  certain  im- 
portant doctrines  of  the  gospel  can  be  so  proclaimed  in 
excess  as  to  throw  the  rest  of  the  truth  into  the  shade, 
and  the  preaching  is  no  longer  the  gospel  in  its  natural 
beauty,  but  a  caricature  of  the  truth,  of  which  caricature 
however,  let  me  say,  some  people  seem  to  be  mightily 
fond.  The  Spirit  of  (jod  will  teach  you  the  use  of  the 
sacrificial  knife  to  divide  the  oflerings  ;  and  he  will  show 
you  how  to  use  the  balances  of  the  sanctuary  so  as  to 
weigh  out  and  mix  the  precious  spices  in  their  proper 
quantities.     Every  experienced  preacher  feels  this  to  be 


THE   HOLY   SPIRIT.  23 

of  tlie  utmost  moment,  and  it  is  well  if  lie  is  able  to 
resist  all  temptation  to  neglect  it.  Alas,  some  of  our 
bearers  do  not  desu-e  to  bear  tbe  wbole  counsel  of  God. 
Tbey  bave  tbeir  favorite  doctrines,  and  would  bave  us 
silent  on  aU  besides.  Many  are  like  tbe  Scotcbwoman, 
wbo,  after  bearing  a  sermon,  said,  "  It  was  very  well  if 
it  badna  been  for  tbe  trasb  of  duties  at  tbe  hinner  end." 
Tbere  are  bretbren  of  tbat  kind  ;  tbey  enjoy  tbe  comfort- 
ing j)art — tbe  promises  and  tbe  doctrines,  but  practical 
boliness  must  scarcely  be  toucbed  upon.  Faitbfulnes 
requires  us  to  give  tbem  a  four-square  gospel,  from 
wbicb  notbing  is  omitted,  and  m  wbicb  uotbing  is  ex- 
aggerated, and  for  tins  mucb  wisdom  is  requisite.  I 
gravely  question  wbetber  any  of  us  bave  so  mucb  of  tbis 
wisdom  as  we  need.  "We  are  probably  afl&icted  by  some 
inexcusable  partialities  and  unjustifiable  leanings;  let  us 
searcb  tbem  out  and  bave  done  witb  tbem.  We  may  be 
conscious  of  baving  passed  by  certain  texts,  not  becai>se 
we  do  not  understand  tbem  (wbicb  migbt  be  justifi- 
able), but  because  we  do  understand  tbem,  and  bardly 
like  to  say  wbat  tbey  bave  taugbt  us,  or  because  tbere 
may  be  some  imperfection  in  ourselves,  or  some 
prejudice  among  ovu'  bearers  wbicb  tbose  texts  would 
reveal  too  clearly  for  oiu'  comfort.  Sucb  sinful  silence 
must  be  ended  fortbwitb.  To  be  wise  stewards  and 
bring  fortb  tbe  rigbt  portions  of  meat  for  our  Master's 
bousebold  we  need  tby  teacbing,  O  Spirit  of  tbe  Lord ! 

Nor  is  tbis  all,  for  even  if  we  know  bow  rigbtly  to 
divide  tbe  Word  of  God,  we  want  wisdom  in  tbe  selec- 
tion of  tbe  particular  part  of  trutb  wbicb  is  most  applic- 
able to  tbe  season  and  to  tbe  people  assembled;  and 
equal  discretion  in  tbe  tone  and  manner  in  wbicb  tbe 
doctrine  sball  be  presented.  I  believe  tbat  many 
'Ijretliren  wbo  preacli  buman  responsibility  deliver  tbem- 


24  LECTURES   TO   MT   STUDENTS 

selves  in  so  legal  a  manner  as  to  disgust  all  those  who 
love  the  doctrines  of  grace.  On  the  other  hand,  I  fear 
that  many  have  preached  the  sovereignty  of  God  in  such 
a  way  as  to  drive  all  persons  who  believe  in  man's  free 
agency  entirely  away  from  the  Calvinistic  side.  We 
should  not  hide  truth  for  a  moment,  but  we  should  have 
wisdom  so  to  preach  it  that  there  should  be  no  needless 
jarring  or  offending,  but  a  gradual  enlightenment  of  those 
who  cannot  see  it  at  all,  and  a  leading  of  weaker  breth- 
ren into  the  full  circle  of  gospel  doctrine. 

Brethren,  we  also  need  wisdom  in  the  way  of  putting- 
things  to  different  people.  You  can  cast  a  man  down 
with  the  very  truth  which  was  intended  to  build  him  up. 
You  can  sicken  a  man  with  the  honey  with  which  you 
meant  to  sweeten  his  mouth.  The  great  mercy  of  God 
has  been  preached  unguardedly,  and  has  led  hundreds 
into  licentiousness;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  teiTors 
of  the  Lord  have  been  occasionally  fulminated  with  such 
violence  that  they  have  driven  men  into  despair,  and  sr 
into  a  settled  defiance  of  the  Most  High.  Wisdom  in 
pofitable  to  direct,  and  he  who  hiith  it  brings  forth 
each  truth  in  its  season,  dressed  in  its  most  appropriate 
garments.  Who  can  give  us  this  wisdom  but  the  blessed 
Spirit  ?  O,  my  brethren,  see  to  it,  that  in  lowliest  rever- 
ence you  wait  for  his  direction. 

3.  Thirdly,  we  need  the  spirit  in  another  manner, 
namely,  as  the  live  coal  from  off  the  altar,  touching  our 
lips,  so  that  when  we  have  knowledge  and  wisdom  to 
select  the  fitting  portion  of  truth,  we  may  enjoy  freedom 
of  utterance  when  we  come  to  deliver  it.  "  Lo,  this  hath 
touched  thy  lips."  Oh,  how  gloriously  a  man  speaks 
when  his  lips  are  blistered  with  the  live  coal  from  the 
altar — feeling  the  burning  power  of  the  truth,  not  only 
in  his  inmost  soul,  but  on  the  very  lip  with  which  he  is 


THE   HOLY   SPIRIT.  25 

speaking !  Mark  at  such  times  how  his  very  utterance 
quivers.  Did  you  not  notice  in  the  jDrayer-meeting  just 
now,  in  two  of  the  suppliant  brethren,  how  their  tones 
were  tremulous,  and  their  bodily  frames  were  quivering, 
because  not  only  were  their  hearts  touched,  as  I  hope 
all  oui'  hearts  were,  but  their  lips  were  touched,  and 
their  speech  was  therebj'  affected.  Brethren,  we  need 
the  Spirit  of  God  to  open  our  mouths  that  we  may  show 
forth  the  praises  of  the  Lord,  or  else  we  shall  not  speak 
with  power. 

We  need  the  divine  influence  to  keep  us  back  froro 
saying  man}^  things  which,  if  they  actually  left  our 
tongue,  would  mar  our  message.  Those  of  us  who  are 
endowed  with  the  dangerous  gift  of  humor  have  need, 
sometimes,  to  stop  and  take  the  word  out  of  our  mouth 
and  look  at  it,  and  see  whether  it  is  quite  to  edification; 
and  those  whose  previous  lives  have  borne  them  among 
the  coarse  and  the  rough  had  need  watch  with  lynx  eyes 
against  indelicacy.  Brethren,  far  be  it  fi'om  us  to  utter 
a  syllable  which  woiild  suggest  an  impure  thought,  or 
raise  a  questionable  memory.  We  need  the  Spirit  of 
God  to  put  bit  and  bridle  upon  us,  to  keep  us  from  say- 
ing that  which  would  take  the  minds  of  our  hearers 
away  from  Christ  and  eternal  reahties,  and  set  them 
thinking  upon  the  grovelling  things  of  earth. 

Urethren,  we  require  the  Holy  Spirit  also  to  incite  us 
in  our  utterance.  I  doubt  not  you  are  all  conscious  of 
different  states  of  mind  in  preaching.  Some  of  those 
states  arise  from  your  body  being  in  different  conditions. 
A  bad  cold  will  not  only  spoil  the  clearness  of  the  voice, 
but  freeze  the  flow  of  the  thoughts.  For  my  own  part, 
if  I  cannot  speak  clearly  I  am  unable  to  think  clearly, 
and  the  matter  becomes  hoarse  as  well  as  the  voice. 
The  stomach,  also,  and  all  the  other  organs  of  the  body. 


26  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

affect  the  mind;  but  it  is  not  to  these  things  that  I 
allude.  Are  you  not  conscious  of  changes  altogether  in- 
dependent of  the  body  ?  When  jou  are  in  robust  health 
do  you  not  find  yourselves  one  day  as  heavy  as  Pharaoh's 
chariot  with  the  vs^heels  taken  off,  and  at  another  time  as 
much  at  liberty  as  "  a  hind  let  loose  "  ?  To-day  your 
branch  glitters  with  the  dew,  yesterday  it  was  parched 
with  drought.  Who  knoweth  not  that  the  Spirit  of  God 
is  in  all  this  ?  The  divine  Spirit  will  sometimes  work 
upon  us  so  as  to  bear  us  completely  out  of  ourselves. 
From  the  beginning  of  the  sermon  to  the  end  we  might 
at  such  times  say,  "Whether  in  the  body  or  out  of  the 
body  I  cannot  tell:  God  knoweth."  Everything  has 
been  forgotten  but  the  one  all-engrossing  subject  in 
hand.  If  I  were  forbidden  to  enter  heaven,  but  were 
permitted  to  select  my  state  for  all  eternity,  I  should 
choose  to  be  as  I  sometimes  feel  in  preaching  the  gospel. 
Heaven  is  foreshadowed  in  such  a  state:  the  mind  shut 
out  from  all  disturbing  influences,  adoring  the  majestic 
and  consciously  present  God,  every  facility  aroused  and 
joyously  excited  to  its  utmost  capability,  all  the  thoughts 
and  powers  of  the  soul  joyously  occupied  in  contemplat- 
ing the  glory  of  the  Lord,  and  extolling  to  listening 
crowds  the  Beloved  of  our  soul;  and  aU  the  while  the 
purest  conceivable  benevolence  towards  one's  fellow 
creatures  urging  the  heart  to  j^lead  with  them  on  God's 
behalf—  what  state  of  mind  can  rival  this  ?  Alas,  we 
have  reached  this  ideal,  but  we  cannot  always  maintain 
it,  for  we  know  also  what  it  is  to  preach  in  chains,  or 
beat  the  air.  We  may  not  attribute  holy  and  hapj^y 
changes  in  our  ministry  to  anything  less  than  the  action 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  our  souls.  I  am  sure  the  Spirit 
does  so  work.  Often  and  often,  when  I  have  had  doubts 
suggested  by  the  infidel,  I  have  been  able  to  fling  them 


THE    HOLY   SPIEIT.  27 

to  the  winds  with  utter  scorn,  because  I  am  distinctly 
conscious  of  a  j^ower  working  upon  me  when  I  am  speak- 
ing in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  infinitel}^  transcending  any 
personal  power  of  fluency,  and  far  surpassing  any  energy 
derived  from  excitement  such  as  I  have  felt  when  de- 
livering a  secular  lecture  or  making  a  speech — so  utterly 
distinct  from  such  power  that  I  am  quite  certain  it  is 
not  of  the  same  order  or  class  as  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
jDolitician  or  the  glow  of  the  orator.  May  we  full  often 
feel  the  divine  energy,  and  speak  with  power. 

4.  But  then,  fourthly,  the  Spirit  of  God  acts  also  as 
an  anointing  oil,  and  this  relates  to  tJie  entire  delivery — 
not  to  the  utterance  merely  from  the  mouth,  but  to  the 
whole  delivery  of  the  discourse.  He  can  make  you  feel 
your  subject  till  it  thrills  you,  and  you  become  depressed 
by  it  so  as  to  be  crushed  into  the  earth,  or  elevated  by 
it.so  as  to  be  borne  upon  its  eagle  wings;  making  3'ou 
feel,  besides  your  subject,  your  object,  tiU  you  yearn  for 
the  conversion  of  men,  and  for  the  uplifting  of  Christians 
to  something  nobler  than  they  have  known  as  yet.  At 
tiie  same  time,  another  feeling  is  with  you,  namely,  an 
intense  desire  that  God  may  be  glorified  through  the 
ti'uth  which  you  are  delivering.  You  are  conscious  of  a 
deep  s-ympathy  with  the  people  to  whom  you  are  speak- 
ing, making  you  mourn  over  some  of  them  because  thev 
know  so  little,  and  over  others  because  they  have  known 
much  but  have  rejected  it.  You  look  into  some  faces 
and  your  heart  silently  says,  "  The  dew  is  drojipino- 
there;  "  and  turning  to  others,  you  sorrowfully  j^erceive 
that  they  are  as  Gilboa's  dewless  mountain.  All  this 
will  be  going  on  during  the  discourse.  We  cannot  tell 
how  many  thoughts  can  traverse  the  mind  at  once.  I 
once  counted  eight  sets  of  thoughts  which  were  "oiuo- 
on  in  my  brain  simultaneously,  or  at  least  within  the 


28  LECTURES   TO   MY  STUDENTS. 

space  of  the  same  second.  I  was  preaching  the  gospel 
with  all  my  might,  but  could  not  help  feeling  for  a  lady 
who  was  evidently  about  to  faint,  and  also  looking  out 
for  our  brother  who  opens  the  windows  that  he  might 
give  us  more  air.  I  was  thinking  of  that  illustration 
which  I  had  omitted  under  the  first  head,  casting  the 
form  of  the  second  division,  wondering  if  A  felt  my 
rebuke,  and  praying  that  B  might  get  comfort  from  the 
consoling  observation,  and  at  the  same  time  jDraising 
God  for  my  own  personal  enjoyment  of  the  truth  T  was 
proclaiming.  Some  interpreters  consider  the  cheTubim 
with  their  four  faces  to  be  emblems  of  ministers,  and 
assuredly  I  see  no  difficulty  in  the  quadruple  form,  for 
the  sacred  Spirit  can  multiply  our  mental  states,  and 
make  us  many  times  the  men  we  are  by  nature.  How 
much  he  can  make  of  us,  and  how  grandly  he  can  elevate 
us,  I  wiU  not  dare  to  surmise:  certainly,  he  can  do  ex- 
ceeding abundantly  above  what  we  ask  or  even  think. 

Especially  is  it  the  Holy  Spirit's  work  to  maintain  in 
us  a  devotional  frame  of  mind  whilst  we  are  discoursing. 
This  is  a  condition  to  be  greatly  oveted — to  contiu' e 
praying  while  you  are  occuj^ied  with  preaching;  to  do 
the  Lord's  commandments,  hearkening  unto  the  voice 
of  his  word;  to  keep  the  eye  on  the  throne,  and  the 
wing  in  perpetual  motion.  I  hope  we  know  what  this 
means;  I  am  sure  we  know,  or  may  soon  experience,  its 
op>posite,  namelj,  the  evil  of  preaching  in  an  undevo- 
tional  spirit.  What  can  be  worse  than  to  speak  under 
the  influence  of  a  proud  or  angry  sj^irit  ?  What  more 
weakening  than  to  p)reach  in  an  unbelieving,  spirit? 
But,  oh,  to  burn  in  our  secret  heart  while  we  blaze  be- 
fore the  eyes  of  others !  This  is  the  work  of  the  Spirit 
of  God.     Work  it  in  us,  O  adorable  Comforter  ! 

In  our  puljiits  we  need  the  spirit  of  dependence  to  be 


TJHE   HOLY   SPIRIi:.  29 

mixed  with  that  of  devotion,  so  that  all  along,  from  the 
first  word  to  the  last  syllable,  ^xe  may  be  looking  up  to 
the  strong  for  strength.  It  is  "well  to  feel  that  though 
you  have  continued  up  to  the  present  point,  j'et  if  the 
Holy  Spirit  were  to  leave  you,  you  would  play  the  fool 
ere  the  sermon  closed.  Looking  to  the  hills  whence 
Cometh  your  help  all  the  sermon  through,  with  absolute 
dependence  upon  God,  you  will  j^reach  in  a  brave,  con- 
fident spirit  all  the  while.  Perhaj^s  I  was  wrong  to  say 
"  brave,"  for  it  is  not  a  brave  thing  to  trust  God:  to  true 
believers  it  is  a  simple  matter  of  sweet  necessity — how 
can  they  lielj)  trusting  him  ?  Wherefore  should  they 
doubt  their  ever  faithful  Friend  ?  I  told  my  j^eople  the 
other  morning,  when  preaching  from  the  text,  "  My 
grace  is  sufficient  for  thee,"  that  for  the  first  time  in  my 
life  I  experienced  what  Abraham  felt  when  he  fell  upon 
his  face  and  laughed.  I  was  riding  home,  very  weary 
with  a  long  week's  work,  when  there  came  to  my  mind 
this  text — "  My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee:  "  but  it  came 
vn.th  the  emphasis  laid  upon  two  words:  "My  grace  is 
sufficient  for  thee."  My  soul  said,  "  Doubtless  it  is. 
Surely  the  grace  of  the  infinite  God  is  moi'e  than  suffi- 
cient for  such  a  mere  insect  as  I  am,"  and  I  laughed, 
and  laughed  again,  to  think  how  far  the  supply  ex- 
ceeded aU  my  needs.  It  seemed  to  me  as  though  I  were 
a  little  fish  in  the  sea,  and  in  my  thirst  I  said,  "  Alas,  I 
shall  drink  up  the  ocean."  Then  the  Father  of  the 
waters  lifted  up  his  head  sublime,  and  smilingly  replied, 
"  Little  fish,  the  boundless  main  is  sufficient  for  thee." 
The  thought  made  unbelief  appear  supremely  ridiculous, 
as  indeed  it  is.  Oh,  brethren,  we  ought  to  preach  feel- 
ing that  God  2neans  to  bless  the  word,  for  we  have  his 
promise  for  it;  and  when  we  have  done  preaching  we 
should  look  out  for  the  jDcople   who  have    received    a 


30  LECTUEES   TO   MY   STT5DENTS. 

blessing.  Do  you  ever  say,  "  I  am  overwhelmed  with 
astonishment  to  find  that  the  Lord  has  converted  souls 
through  my  poor  ministry  "  ?  Mock  humility !  Your 
ministry  is  poor  enough.  Everybody  knows  that,  and 
you  ought  to  know  it  most  of  all:  but,  at  the  same  time, 
is  it  any  wonder  that  God,  who  said  "  My  word  shall  not 
return  unto  me  void,"  has  kept  his  promise?  Is  the 
meat  to  lose  its  nourishment  because  the  dish  is  a  poor 
platter  ?  Is  divine  grace  to  be  overcome  by  our  infirm- 
ity ?  No,  but  we  have  this  treasure  in  earthen  vessels, 
that  the  excellency  of  the  power  may  be  of  God  and  not 
of  us. 

We  need  the  Spirit  of  God,  then,  all  through  the  ser- 
mon to  keep  our  hearts  and  minds  in  a  proper  condition, 
for  if  we  have  not  the  right  spirit  we  shall  lose  the  tone 
which  persuades  and  prevails,  and  our  people  will  dis- 
cover that  Samson's  strength  has  departed  from  him. 
Some  speak  scoldingiy,  and  so  betray  their  bad  temper; 
others  preach  themselves,  and  so  reveal  their  pride. 
Some  discourse  as  though  it  were  a  condescension  on 
their  part  to  occupy  the  pulpit,  while  others  preach  as 
though  they  aj^ologized  for  their  existence.  To  avoid 
errors  of  manners  and  tone,  we  must  be  led  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  who  alone  teacheth  us  to  profit. 

5.  Fifthly,  we  depend  entirely  upon  the  Spirit  of 
God  to  produce  actual  effect  from  the  gospel,  and  at  this 
effect  we  must  always  aim.  We  do  not  stand  up  in  our 
pulpits  to  display  our  skill  in  spiritual  sword  play,  but 
we  come  to  actual  fighting:  our  object  is  to  drive  the 
sword  of  the  Spirit  through  men's  hearts.  If  jn-eaching 
can  ever  in  any  sense  be  viewed  as  a  public  exhibition, 
it  should  be  like  the  exhibition  of  a  ploughing  match, 
which  consists  in  actual  ploughing.  The  competition 
does  not  lie  in  the  appearance  of  the  ploughs,  but  in  the 


THE   HOLY   SPIRIT.  31 

work  done;  so  let  ministers  be  judged  by  the  way  in 
which  they  drive  the  gospel  plough,  and  cut  the  furrow 
from  end  to  end  of  the  field.  Always  aim  at  eflect. 
"Oh,"  says  one,  "I  thought  you  would  have  said, 
'Never  do  that.'"  I  do  also  say,  never  aim  at  effect,  in 
the  unhappy  sense  of  that  expression.  Never  aim  at 
effect  after  the  manner  of  the  climax  makers,  poetry 
quoters,  handkerchief  manipulators,  and  bombast 
blowers.  Far  better  for  a  man  that  he  had  never  been 
born  than  that  he  should  degrade  a  pulpit  into  a  show 
bos  to  exhibit  himself  in.  Aim  at  the  right  sort  of 
effect;  the  inspiring  of  saints  to  nobler  things,  the  lead- 
ing of  Christians  closer  to  theu'  Master,  the  comforting 
of  doubters  till  they  rise  out  of  their  terrors,  the  re- 
pentance of  sinners,  and  then-  exercise  of  immediate  faith 
in  Christ. 

Without  these  signs  following,  what  is  the  use 
of  our  sermons  ?  It  would  be  a  miserable  thing  to 
have  to  say  with  a  certain  archbishop,  "  I  have  jjassed 
through  many  places  of  honor- and  trust,  both  in  Churcli 
and  State,  more  than  any  of  my  order  in  England,  for 
seventy  years  before;  but  were  I  assured  that  by  my 
preaching  I  had  but  converted  one  soul  to  Grod,  I  should 
herein  take  more  comfort  than  in  all  the  honored  offices 
that  have  been  bestowed  upon  me."  Miracles  of  grace 
must  be  the  seals  of  our  ministry;  who  can  bestow  thei;\i 
but  the  Spirit  of  God?  Convert  a  soul  without  the 
Spirit  of  God  !  Why,  you  cannot  even  make  a  fly,  much 
less  create  a  new  heart  and  a  right  spirit.  Lead  the 
children  of  God  to  a  higher  life  without  the  Holy  Ghost ! 
You  are  inexpressibly  more  likely  to  conduct  them  into 
carnal  security,  if  you  attempt  their  elevation  by  any 
method  of  your  own.  Our  ends  can  never  be  gained  if 
we    miss  the    co-operation   of  the    Spirit   of  the  Lord. 


32  LECTURES    TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

Therefore,  with  strong  crying  and  tears,  wait  upon  him 
from  day  to  day. 

The  lack  of  distinctly  recognizing  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  lies  at  the  root  of  many  useless  ministries. 
The  forcible  words  of  Robert  Hall  are  as  true  now  as 
when  he  poured  them  forth  like  molten  lava  upon  a 
semi-socinian  generation.  ''  On  the  one  hand  it  deserves 
attention,  that  the  most  eminent  and  successful  preachers 
of  the  gospel  in  different  communities,  a  Brainerd,  a 
Baxter,  and  a  Schwartz,  have  been  the  most  conspicuous 
for  simple  dependence  on  spiritual  aid;  and  on  the 
other  that  no  success  whatever  has  attended  the  minis- 
trations of  those  by  whom  this  doctrine  has  been  either 
neglected  or  denied.  They  have  met  with  such  a  rebuke 
of  their  presumption,  in  the  total  failure  of  their  efforts, 
that  none  will  contend  for  the  reality  of  Divine  interposi- 
tion, as  far  as  they  are  concerned;  for  when  has  the 
arm  of  the  Lord  been  revealed  to  those  pretended 
teachers  of  Christianity,  who  believe  there  is  no  such 
arm  ?  We  must  leave  them  to  labor  in  a  field  respect- 
ing which  God  has  commanded  -the  clouds  not  to  rain 
upon  it.  As  if  conscious  of  this,  of  late  they  have  turned 
their  efforts  into  a  new  channel,  and  desjDairing  of  the 
conversion  of  sinners,  have  confined  themselves  to  the 
seduction  of  the  faithful;  in  which,  it  must  be  confessed, 
they  have  acted  in  a  manner  jierfectly  consistent  with 
their  principles;  the  proj)agation  of  heresy  requiring,  at 
least,  no  divine  assistance." 

6.  Next  we  need  the  Spirit  of  God  as  tlie  Spirit  of 
supplications,  who  maketh  intercession  for  the  saints 
according  to  the  will  of  God.  A  very  important  part  of 
our  lives  consists  in  praying  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  that 
minister  who  does  not  think  so  had  better  escape  from 
his    ministry.     Abundant  prayer  must  go  with  earnest 


THE    HOLY   SPIEIT.  33 

preaching.  We  cannot  be  always  on  the  knees  of  the 
body,  but  the  soul  should  never  leave  the  jDOsture  of 
devotion.  The  habit  of  prayer  is  good,  but  the  spirit  of 
prayer  is  better.  Regular  retirement  is  to  be  maintained, 
but  continued  communion  with  God  is  to  be  our  aim. 
As  a  rule,  we  ministers  ought  never  to  be  many  iuinutes 
without  actually  lifting  up  bur  hearts  in  prayer.  Some 
of  us  could  honestly  say  that  we  are  seldom  a  quarter  of 
an  hour  without  speaking  to  God,  and  that  not  as  a  duty 
but  as  an  instinct,  a  habit  of  the  new  nature  for  which 
we  claim  no  more  credit  than  a  babe  does  for  cryino- 
after  its  mother.  How  could  we  do  otherwise  ?  Now, 
if  we  are  to  be  much  in  the  spirit  of  prayer,  we  need 
secret  oil  to  be  poured  upon  the  sacred  fire  of  our 
heart's  devotion;  we  want  to  be  again  and  again  visited 
by  the  spirit  of  grace  and  of  supplications. 

As  to  our  prayers  in  public,  let  it  never  be  truthfuUy 
said  that  they  are  official,  formal,  and  cold;  yet  they  will 
be  so  if  the  supply  of  the  Spirit  be  scant.  Those  who 
use  a  liturgy  I  judge  not;  but  to  those  who  are  accus- 
tomed to  fi'ee  prayer  I  say, — you  cannot  pray  acceptably 
in  public  year  after  year  without  the  Spirit  of  God;  dead 
praying  will  become  offensive  to  the  i^eople  long  before 
that  time.  What  then  ?  Whence  shall  our  help  come  ? 
Certain  weaklings  have  said,  "Let  us  have  a  liturgy." 
Rather  than  seek  divine  aid  they  will  go  down  to  Egypt 
for  help.  Rather  than  be  dejoendent  upon  the  Spirit  of 
God,  they  will  pray  by  a  book  !  For  my  part,  if  I  cannot 
pray,  I  would  rather  know  it,  and  groan  over  my  soul's 
barrenness  till  the  Lord  shall  again  visit  me  with  fruit- 
fulness  of  devotion.  If  you  are  filled  wuth  the  SjDirit, 
you  wiU  be  glad  to  throw  off  all  formal  fetters,  that  you 
may  commit  yourself  to  the  sacred  current,  to  be  borne 
along  till  you  find  waters  to  swim  in.     Sometimes  you 


34  LECTURES  TO  MY  STUDENTS. 

will  eujoy  closer  fellowsliip  with  God  in  pra^^er  in  the 
pulpit  than  you  have  known  anywhere  else.  To  me  my 
greatest  secrecy  in  prayer  has  often  been  in  public;  my 
truest  loneliness  with  God  has  occurred  to  me  while 
pleading-  in  the  midst  of  thousands.  I  have  opened  my 
eyes  a":  the  close  of  a  prayer  and  come  back  to  the  assem- 
bly witli  a  sort  of  a  shock  at  finding-  mj'self  upon  earth 
and  among  men.  Such  seasons  are  not  at  our  command, 
neither  can  we  raise  ourselves  into  such  conditions  by 
any  prej)arations  or  efforts.  How  blessed  they  are  both 
to  the  minister  and  his  people  no  tongue  can  tell!  How 
fiill  of  power  and  blessing  habitual  pray  erf  ulness  must 
also  be  I  cannot  here  pause  to  declare,  but  for  it  all  we 
must  look  to  the  Holy  S^Dirit,  and,  blessed  be  God,  we 
shall  not  look  in  vain,  for  it  is  esi^ecially  said  of  him  that 
he  helpeth  our  infirmities  in  prayer. 

7.  Furthermore,  it  is  important  that  we  be  under  the 
inflvience  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  he  is  the  Spirit  of  holiness  / 
for  a  very  considerable  and  essential  part  of  Christian 
ministry  lies  in  example.  Our  people  take  much  note  of 
what  we  say  out  of  the  pul^jit,  and  what  we  do  in  the 
social  circle  and  elsewhere.  Do  you  find  it  easy,  my 
brethren,  to  be  saints  ? — such  saints  that  others  may 
regard  you  as  examj)les  ?  We  ought  to  be  such  hus- 
bands that  every  husband  in  the  parish  may  safely  be 
such  as  we  are.  Is  it  so  ?  We  ought  to  be  the  best  of 
fathers.  Alas !  some  ministers,  to  my  knowledge,  are  far 
from  this,  for  as  to  their  families,  they  have  kept  the 
vineyards  of  others,  but  their  own  vineyards  they  have 
not  kept.  Their  children  are  neglected,  and  do  not  grow 
up  as  a  godly  seed.  Is  it  so  with  yours  ?  In  our  con- 
verse with  our  fellow-men  are  we  blameless  and  harm- 
less, the  sons  of  God  without  rebuke  ?  Such  we  ought 
1o  be.     I  admire  Mr.   Whitfield's  reasons  for  always  hav- 


THE    HOLY   SPIRIT.  35 

ing  his  linen  scrupulously  clean.  "No,  no,"  he  would 
say,  "  these  are  not  trifles  ;  a  minister  must  be  without 
spot,  even  in  his  garments,  if  he  can."  Purity  cannot  be 
carried  too  far  in  a  minister.  You  have  known  an  un- 
happy brother  bespatter  himself,  and  you  have  affection- 
ately aided  in  removing  the  spots,  but  you  have  felt  that 
it  would  have  been  better  had  the  garments  been  always 
white.  O  to  keep  ourselves  unspotted  fi-om  the  world ! 
How  can  this  be  in  such  a  scene  of  temptation,  and  with 
such  besetting  sins,  unless  we  are  preserved  by  superior 
power  ?  If  you  are  to  walk  in  all  holiness  and  purity,  as 
becometh  ministers  of  the  gospel,  you  must  be  daily 
baptized  into  the  Spirit  of  God. 

8.  Once  again,  we  need  the  Spuit  as  a  Spirit  of  dis- 
cernment, for  he  knows  the  minds  of  men  as  he  knows 
the  mind  of  God,  and  we  need  this  very  much  in  deahng 
with  difficult  characters.  There  are  in  this  world  some 
persons  who  might  possibly  be  allowed  to  preach,  but 
they  should  never  be  suffered  to  become  pastors.  They 
have  a  mental  or  spti'itual  disqualification.  In  the 
church  of  San  Zeno,  at  Verona,  I  saw  the  statue  of  that 
saint  in  a  sitting  posture,  and  the  artist  has  given  him 
knees  so  short  that  he  has  no  lap  whatever,  so  that  he 
could  not  have  been  a  nursing  father.  I  fear  there  are 
many  others  who  labor  under  a  similar  disability :  they 
cannot  bring  their  minds  to  enter  heartily  into  the  pas- 
toral care.  They  can  dogmatize  upon  a  doctrine,  and 
controvert  upon  an  ordinance,  but  as  to  sympathizing 
with  an  experience,  it  is  far  from  them.  Cold  comfort 
can  such  render  to  afflicted  consciences  ;  their  adAdce 
will  be  equally  valuable  with  that  of  the  highland er  who 
is  reported  to  have  seen  an  Englishman  sinking  in  a  bog 
on  Ben  Nevis.  "  I  am  sinking ! "  cried  the  traveller. 
•'Can   you   teU   me  how  to  get  out?"     The  highlander 


36  LECTUEES    TO    MY    STUDENTS. 

calmly  replied,  "I  tliiuk  it  is  likely  you  never  will,"  and 
walked  away.  We  have  known  ministers  of  that  kind, 
puzzled,  and  almost  annoyed  with  sinners'  struggling  in 
the  slough  of  despond.  If  you  and  I,  untrained  in  the 
shepherd's  art,  were  placed  among  the  ewes  and  young 
lambs  in  the  early  spring,  what  should  we  do  with  them  ? 
In  some  such  perplexity  are  those  found  who  have  never 
been  taught  of  the  Holy  Spirit  how  to  care  for  the  souls  of 
men.  May  his  instructions  save  us  from  such  wretched 
incompetence. 

Moreover,  brethren,  whatever  our  tenderness  of  heart, 
or  loving  anxiety,  we  shall  not  know  how  to  deal  with 
the  vast  variety  of  cases  unless  the  Spirit  of  G-od  shall 
direct  us,  for  no  two  individuals  are  alike  ;  and  even  the 
same  case  will  require  different  treatment  at  different 
times.  At  one  period  it  may  be  best  to  console,  at  an- 
other to  rebuke  ;  and  the  person  with  whom  you  sym- 
pathized even  to  tears  to-day  may  need  that  you  con- 
front him  with  a  frown  to-morrow,  for  trifling  with  the 
consolation  which  you  presented.  Those  who  bind  up 
the  broken-hearted  and  set  free  the  captives  must  have 
the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  upon  tliem. 

In  the  oversight  and  guidance  of  a  church  the  Spirit's 
aid  is  needed.  At  bottom  the  chief  reason  for  secession 
from  our  denomination  has  been  the  difficulty  arising 
out  of  our  church  government.  It  is  said  to  "tend  to  the 
unrest  of  the  ministry."  Doubtless,  it  is  very  trying  to 
those  who  crave  for  the  dignity  of  officialism,  and  must 
need  be  Sir  Oraclps,  before  whom  not  a  dog  must  bark. 
Those  who  are  no  more  capable  of  ruling  than  mere 
babes  are  the  very  persons  who  have  the  greatest  thirst 
for  authority,  and  finding  little  of  it  awarded  to  them  in 
these  parts,  they  seek  other  regions.  If  you  cannot  rule 
yourself,  if  you  are  not  manly  and  independent,  if  you 


THE    HOLY   SPIRIT.  37 

are  not  superior  in  moral  weight,  if  you  have  not  more 
gift  and  more  grace  than  your  ordinary  hearers,  you 
may  put  on  a  gown  and  claim  to  be  the  ruling  person 
in  the  church;  but  it  will  not  be  in  a  church  of  the  Bap- 
tist or  New  Testament  order.  For  my  part  I  should 
loathe  to  be  the  pastor  of  a  people  who  have  nothing  to 
say,  or  who,  if  they  do  say  anything,  might  as  weU  be 
quiet,  for  the  pastor  is  Lord  Paramount,  and  they  are 
mere  laj-men  and  nobodies.  I  would  sooner  be  the 
leader  of  six  free  men,  whose  enthusiastic  love  is  my 
only  jiower  over  them,  than  play  the  dictator  to  a  score 
of  enslaved  nations.  What  position  is  nobler  than  that 
of  a  spiritual  father  who  claims  no  authority  and  yet  is 
universally  esteemed,  whose  word  is  given  only  as  tender 
advice,  but  is  allowed  to  operate  with  the  force  of  law  ? 
Consulting  the  wishes  of  others  he  finds  that  the}'  first 
desire  to  know  what  he  would  recommend,  and  defer- 
ring always  to  the  desu'es  of  others,  he  finds  that  they  are 
glad  to  defer  to  him.  Lovingly  firm  and  graciously  gen- 
tle, he  is  the  chief  of  all  because  he  is  the  servant  of  all. 
Does  not  this  need  wisdom  from  above  ?  What  can  re- 
quire it  more  ?  David  when  established  on  the  throne 
said,  "  It  is  he  that  subdueth  my  people  under  me,"  and 
so  may  every  happy  pastor  say  when  he  sees  so  many 
brethren  of  differing  temperaments  all  happily  willing  to 
be  under  discipline,  and  to  accept  his  leadership  in  the 
work  of  the  Lord.  If  the  Lord  were  not  among  us,  how 
soon  there  would  be  confusion.  Ministers,  deacons,  and 
elders  may  all  be  wise,  but  if  the  sacred  dove  dejjarts, 
and  the  spirit  of  strife  enters,  it  is  all  over  with  us. 
Brethren,  our  system  will  not  work  without  the  Spirit  of 
God,  and  I  am  glad  it  will  not,  for  its  stoppages  and 
breakages  call  our  attention  to  the  fact  of  his  absence. 
Our  system  was  never  intended  to  promote  the  glory  of 


38  LECTURES    TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

priests  and  pastors,  but  it  is  calculated  to  educate  manly 
Christians,  who  will  not  take  their  faith  at  second  hand. 
What  am  I,  and  what  are  you,  that  we  should  be  lords 
over  God's  heritage?  Dare  any  of  us  say  with  the 
French  king,  "L'etat,  c'est  moi" — "  the  state  is  myself," 
— I  am  the  most  important  person  in  the  church  ?  If  so, 
the  Holy  Sjoirit  is  not  likely  to  use  such  unsuitable  in- 
struments; but  if  we  know  our  places  and  desire  to  keep 
them  with  all  humility,  he  will  help  us,  and  the  churches 
will  flourish  beneath  our  care. 

I  have  given  you  a  lengthened  catalogue  of  matters 
wherein  the  Holy  Spirit  is  absolutely  necessary  to  us, 
and  yet  the  list  is  very  far  from  complete.  I  have  in- 
tentionally left  it  imperfect,  because  if  I  attempted  its 
completion  all  our  time  would  have  expired  before  we 
were  able  to  answer  the  question,  How  may  we  lose  this 
NEEDFUL  ASSISTANCE  ?  Let  noiie  of  US  ever  try  the  exiDcri- 
ment,  but  it  is  certain  that  ministers  may  lose  the  aid  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  Each  man  here  may  lose  it.  You  shall 
not  perish  as  believers,  for  everlasting  life  is  in  you;  but 
you  may  perish  as  ministers,  and  be  no  more  heard  of  as 
witnesses  for  the  Lord.  Should  this  happen  it  will  not 
be  without  a  cause.  The  Spirit  claims  a  sovereignty 
like  that  of  the  wind  which  bloweth  where  it  listeth  ;  but 
let  us  never  dream  that  sovereignty  and  capriciousness 
are  the  same  thing.  The  blessed  Spirit  acts  as  he  wills, 
but  he  always  acts  justly,  wisely,  and  with  motive  and 
reason.  At  times  he  gives  or  withholds  his  blessing,  for 
reasons  connected  with  ourselves.  Mark  the  course  of  a 
river  like  the  Thames;  how  it  winds  and  twists  according 
to  its  own  sweet  will:  yet  there  is  a  reason  for  every 
bend  and  curve:  the  geologist  studying  the  soil  and 
marking  the  conformation  of  the  rock,  sees  a  reason  wh}' 


THE    HOLY   SPIRIT.  39 

the  river's  bed  diverges  to  the  right  or  to  the  left :  and 
so,  though  the  SjDirit  of  Grod  blesses  one  preacher  more 
than  another,  and  the  reason  cannot  be  such  that  any 
man  could  congratulate  himself  upon  his  own  goodness, 
yet  there  are  certain  things  about  Christian  ministers 
which  Gods  blesses,  and  certain  other  things  which  hin- 
der success.  The  Sj^irit  of  God  falls  like  the  dew,  in 
mystery  and  power,  but  it  is  in  the  spiritual  world  as  in 
the  natural:  certain  substances  are  wet  with  the  celes- 
tial moisture  while  others  are  always  dry.  Is  there  not 
a  cause?  The  wind  blows  where  it  lists;  but  if  we  desire 
to  feel  a  stiff  breeze  we  must  go  out  to  sea,  or  climb  the 
hills.  The  Spirit  of  God  has  his  favored  places  for  dis- 
playing his  might.  He  is  typified  by  a  dove,  and  the 
dove  has  chosen  haunts:  to  the  rivers  of  waters,  to  the 
peaceful  and  quiet  places,  the  dove  resorts;  we  meet  it 
not  upon  the  battle-field,  neither  does  it  alight  on  car- 
rion. There  are  things  congruous  to  the  Si)irit,  and 
things  contrary  to  his  mind.  The  Spirit  of  God  is  com- 
pared to  light,  and  light  can  shine  where  it  wills,  but 
some  bodies  are  opaque,  while  others  are  transparent; 
and  so  there  are  men  through  whom  God  the  Holy  Ghost 
can  shine,  and  there  are  others  through  whom  his 
brightness  never  ajij^ears.  Thus,  then,  it  can  be  shown 
that  the  Holy  Ghost,  though  he  be  the  "  free  Spirit"  of 
God,  is  by  no  means  capricious  in  his  operations. 

But,  dear  brethren,  the  Spirit  of  God  may  be  grieved 
and  vexed,  and  even  resisted :  to  deny  this  is  to  oj)pose 
the  constant  testimony  of  Scripture.  Worst  of  all,  we 
may  do  desj)ite  to  him,  and  so  insult  him  that  he  will 
speak  no  more  by  us,  but  leaves  us  as  he  left  King  Saul 
of  old.  Alas,  that  there  should  be  men  in  the  Christian 
ministry  to  whom  this  has  hajDpened :  but  I  am  afraid 
there  are. 


40  LECTtTRES    TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

Brethren,  what  are  those  evils  which  will  grieve  the 
Spirit?  I  answer,  anything  that  would  have  disqualifiecl 
you  as  an  ordinary  Christian  for  communion  with  God 
also  disqualifies  you  for  feeling  the  extraordinary  power 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  as  a  minister :  but,  ajjart  from  that, 
there  are  sj^ecial  hindrances. 

Among  the  first  we  must  mention  a  want  of  sensitive- 
ness, or  that  unfeeling  condition  which  arises  from  dis- 
obeying the  Spirit's  influences.  We  should  be  delicately 
sensitive  to  his  faintest  movement,  and  then  we  may  ex- 
pect his  abiding  presence,  but  if  we  are  as  the  horse  and 
as  the  mule,  which  have  no  understanding,  we  shall  feel 
the  whip,  but  we  shall  not  enjoy  the  tender  influences  of 
the  Comforter. 

Another  grieving  fault  is  a  want  of  truthfulness.  When 
a  great  musician  takes  a  guitar,  or  touches  a  harj),  and 
finds  that  the  notes  are  false,  he  stays  his  hand.  Some 
men's  souls  are  not  honest;  they  are  sophistical  and 
double-minded.  Christ's  Spirit  wiU  not  be  an  accom- 
plice with  men  in  the  wretched  business  of  shuffling  and 
deceiving.  Does  it  really  come  to  this — that  you  preach 
certain  doctrines,  not  because  you  believe  them,  but  be- 
cause your  congregation  expects  you  to  do  so  ?  Are  you 
biding  your  time  till  you  can,  without  risk,  renounce 
your  present  creed  and  tell  ou.t  what  your  dastardly 
aiind  really  holds  to  be  true  ?  Then  are  you  fallen 
indeed,  and  are  baser  than  the  meanest  slaves.  God 
deliver  us  from  treacherous  men,  and  if  they  enter  our 
ranks,  may  they  speedily  be  drummed  out  to  the  tune 
of  the  Rogue's  March.  If  we  feel  an  abhorrence  of 
them,  how  much  more  must  the  Sj^irit  of  truth  detest 
them! 

Toil  can  greatly  grieve  the  Holy  Spirit  by  a  general 
scantiness  of  grace.     The  phrase  is  awkward,  but  it  de- 


THE   HOLY   SPIUIT.  41 

scribes  certain  jDersons  better  than  any  other  which 
occurs  to  me.  The  Scanty-grace  family  usually  have  one 
of  the  brothers  in  the  ministry.  I  know  the  man.  He 
is  not  dishonest,  nor  immoral,  he  is  not  bad  tempered, 
nor  self-indulgent,  but  there  is  a  something  wanting:  it 
would  not  be  easy  to  prove  its  absence  by  any  overt 
offence,  but  it  is  wanting  in  the  whole  man,  and  its 
absence  spoils  everything.  He  wants  the  one  thing 
needful.  He  is  not  spiritual,  he  has  no  savor  of  Christ, 
his  heart  never  burns  within  him,  his  soul  is  not  alive, 
he  wants  grace.  We  cannot  expect  the  Spirit  of  God  to 
bless  a  ministry  which  never  ought  to  have  been  ex- 
ercised, and  certainly  a  graceless  ministry  is  of  that 
character. 

Another  evil  which  drives  away  the  divine  Spirit  is 
pride.  The  way  to  be  very  great  is  to  be  very  little. 
To  be  xerj  noteworthy  in  your  own  esteem  is  to  be  unno- 
ticed of  God.  If  you  must  needs  dwell  upon  the  high 
places  of  the  earth,  you  shall  find  the  mountain  sum- 
mits cold  and  barren :  the  Lord  dwells  with  the  lowly, 
but  he  knows  the  proud  afar  ofE 

The  Holy  Ghost  is  also  vexed  by  laziness.  I  cannot  im- 
agine the  Spirit  waiting  at  the  d  oor  of  a  slviggard,  and 
supplying  the  deficiencies  created  by  indolence.  Sloth  in 
the  cause  of  the  Kedeemer  is  a  vice  for  which  no  excuse 
can  be  invented.  We  ourselves  feel  our  flesh  creep 
when  we  see  the  dilatory  movements  of  sluggards,  and 
we  may  be  sure  that  the  active  Spirit  is  equally  vexed 
with  those  who  trifle  in  the  work  of  the  Lord. 

Neglect  of  private  prayer  and  many  other  evils  will 
produce  the  same  unhappy  result,  but  there  is  no  need 
to  enlarge,  for  your  own  consciences  will  tell  you,  breth- 
ren, what  it  is  that  grieves  the  Holy  One  of  Israel. 

And  now,  let  me  entreat  vou,  listen  to  this  word: — Do 


42  LECTURES   TO   MY  STUDENTS. 

}jou  hnoiv  wh((t  may  h(q)pcn  if  the  Spirit  of  God  he  grcathj 
grieved  and  depart  from  us  f  There  are  two  supposi- 
tions. The  first  is  that  we  never  were  God's  true  servants 
at  all,  but  were  only  temporarily  used  by  him,  as  Balaam 
was,  and  even  the  ass  on  which  he  rode.  Suppose, 
brethren,  that  you  and  I  go  on  comfortably  preaching  a 
while,  and  are  neither  suspected  by  ourselves  nor  others 
to  be  destitute  of  the  Spirit  of  God:  our  ministry  may  all 
come  to  an  eiid  ou  a  sudden,  and  we  may  come 
to  an  end  with  it;  we  may  be  smitten  down  in  our 
prime,  as  were  Nadab  and  Abidu,  no  more  to  be  seen 
ministering  before  the  Lord,  or  removed  in  riper  years, 
like  Hophni  and  Phineas,  no  longer  to  sei've  in  the  taber- 
nacle of  the  congregation.  We  have  no  inspired  annal- 
ist to  record  for  us  the  sudden  cutting  off  of  promising 
men,  but  if  we  had,  it  may  be  we  should  read  with  terror 
— of  zeal  sustained  by  strong  drink,  of  public  Phari- 
seeism  associated  with  secret  defilement,  of  avowed  ortho- 
doxy concealing  absolute  infidelity,  or  of  some  other 
form  of  strange  fire  presented  upon  the  altar  till  the 
jord  would  endure  it  no  more,  and  cut  off  the  offenders 
with  a  sudden  stroke.  Shall  this  terrible  doom  hapj^en 
lo  any  one  of  us  ? 

Alas,  I  have  seen  some  deserted  by  the  Holy  Sjjirit,  as 
Saul  Avas.  It  is  written  that  the  Spirit  of  God  came  up- 
on Saul,  but  he  was  faithless  to  the  divine  influence,  and  it 
departed,  and  an  evil  spirit  occuj^ied  its  place.  See  how 
the  deserted  preacher  moodil}'  inlays  the  cynic,  criticises 
all  others,  and  hurls  the  javelin  of  detraction  at  a  better 
man  than  himself.  Saul  was  once  among  the  prophets, 
but  he  was  more  at  home  among  the  persecutors.  The 
disappointed  preacher  worries  the  true  evangelist,  re- 
sorts to  the  witchcraft  of  philosoj)hy  and  seeks  help  from 
dead  heresies;  but  his  power  is  gone,  and  the  Philistines 


THE   HOLY   SPIRIT.  43 

^Yill  soon  find  him  among  tlie  slain.  "  Tell  it  not  in  Gatli, 
publish  it  not  in  the  streets  of  Askelon !  ye  daughters  of 
Israel  weep  over  Saul !  How  are  the  mighty  fallen  in 
the  midst  of  the  battle  !  " 

Some,  too,  deserted  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  have  become 
like  the  sons  of  one  Sceva,  a  Jew.  These  pretenders 
tried  to  cast  out  devils  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  whom  Paul 
preached,  but  the  devils  leaped  u23on  them  and  over- 
came them;  thus  while  certain  preachers  have  declaimed 
against  sin,  the  very  vices  which  they  denounced  have 
overthrown  them.  The  sons  of  Sceva  have  been  among 
us  in  England :  the  devils  of  drunkenness  have  prevailed 
over  the  very  man  who  denounced  the  bewitching  cup, 
and  the  demon  of  unchastity  has  leaped  upon  the 
jireacher  who  applauded  purity.  If  the  Holy  Ghost  be 
absent,  ours  is  of  all  positions  the  most  perilous;  there- 
fore let  us  beware. 

Alas,  some  ministers  become  like  Balaam.  He  was  a 
prophet,  was  he  not  ?  Did  he  not  speak  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord  ?  Is  he  not  called  the  man  whose  eyes  are 
ojjened,  which  saw  the  vision  of  the  Almighty  ?  "  Yet  Ba- 
laam fought  against  Israel,  and  cunningly  devised  a 
scheme  by  which  the  chosen  people  might  be  over- 
thrown. Ministers  of  the  Gospel  have  become  Papists, 
infidels,  and  freethinkers,  and  plotted  the  destruction 
of  what  they  once  professed  to  prize.  We  may  be 
apostles,  and  yet,  like  Judas,  turn  out  to  be  sons  of  per- 
dition.    Woe  unto  us  if  this  be  the  case  ! 

Brethren,  I  will  assume  that  we  really  are  the  children 
of  God,  and  what  then  ?  Why,  even  then,  if  the  Spirit 
of  God  depart  from  us,  we  may  be  taken  away  on  a  sud- 
den, as  the  deceived  prophet  was  who  failed  to  obey  the 
command  of  the  Lord  in  the  days  of  Jeroboam.  He  was 
no  doubt   a  man  of  God,  and  the  deatli  of  his  bodv  was 


44  LECTURES   TO   MT   STUDENTS. 

no  evidence  of  the  loss  of  his  soul,  but  he  broke  away 
from  what  he  knew  to  be  the  commani  of  God  given 
sj)eciaUy  to  himself,  and  his  ministry  ended  there  and 
then,  for  a  lion  met  him  by  the  way  and  slew  him.  May 
the  Holy  Spirit  preserve  ns  from  deceivers,  and  keep  us 
true  to  the  voice  of  God. 

Worse  still,  we  may  reproduce  the  life  of  Samson, 
upon  whom  the  Spirit  of  God  came  in  the  camps  of  Dan; 
but  in  Delilah's  lap  he  lost  his  strength,  and  in  the  dun- 
geon he  lost  his  eyes.  He  bravely  finished  his  life-work, 
blind  as  he  was,  but  who  among  us  wishes  to  tempt 
such  a  fate  ? 

Or — and  this  last  has  saddened  me  beyond  all  expres- 
sion, because  it  is  much  more  likely  than  any  of  the  rest 
— we  may  be  left  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  in  a  painful  de- 
gree, to  mar  the  close  of  our  life-work  as  Moses  did. 
Not  to  lose  oiu*  souls,  nay,  not  even  to  lose  our  crowns 
in  heaven,  or  even  our  reputations  on  earth;  but,,  still,  to 
be  under  a  cloud  in  our  last  days  through  once  speaking 
unadvisedly  with  our  lips.  I  have  lately  studied  the 
later  days  of  the  great  prophet  of  Horeb,  and  I  have  not 
yet  recovered  from  the  deep  gloom  of  spirit  which  it 
cast  over  me.  What  was  the  sin  of  Moses  ?  You  need 
not  inquire.  It  was  not  gross  like  the  transgression 
of  David,  nor  startling  like  the  failure  of  Peter,  nor 
weak  and  foolish  like  the  grave  fault  of  his  brother  Aaron; 
indeed,  it  seems  an  infinitesimal  offence  as  weighed  in 
the  balances  of  ordinary'  judgment.  But  then,  you  see, 
it  was  the  sin  of  Moses,  of  a  man  favored  of  God  beyond 
all  others,  of  a  leader  of  the  people,  of  a  representative 
of  the  divine  King.  The  Lord  could  have  overlooked  it 
in  any  one  else,  but  not  in  Moses:  Moses  must  be  chas- 
tened by  being  forbidden  to  lead  the  people  into  the  prom- 
ised land.     Truly,  he  had  a  glorious  view  from  the  top 


THE   HOLY   SPIRIT.  45 

of  Pisgah,  and  everything  else  which  could  mitigate  the 
rigor  of  the  sentence,  but  it  was  a  great  disappoint- 
ment never  to  enter  the  land  of  Israel's  inheritance,  and 
ciat  for  once  speaking  unadvisedly.  I  would  not  shun 
my  Master's  service,  but  I  tremble  in  his  presence. 
"Who  can  be  faultless  when  even  Moses  erred  ?  It  is  a 
dreadful  thing  to  be  beloved  of  God.  "  Who  among  us 
shaU  dwell  with  devouring  fire?  'Who  among  us  shall 
dwell  with  everlasting  burnings?  He  that  walketh  right- 
eously and  speaketh  uprightly  " — he  alone  can  face  that 
sin-consuming  flame  of  love.  Brethren,  I  beseech  you, 
crave  Moses's  place,  but  tremble  as  you  take  it.  Fear 
and  tremble  for  all  the  good  that  God  shall  make  to  pass 
before  you.  When  you  are  fidlest  of  the  fruits  of  the 
Spuit  bow  lowest  before  the  throne,  and  serve  the  Lord 
with  fear.  "  The  Lord  our  God  is  a  jealous  God."  Re- 
member that  God  has  come  imto  us,  not  to  exalt  us,  but 
to  exalt  himself,  and  we  must  see  to  it  that  his  glory  is 
the  one  sole  object  of  all  that  we  do.  "  He  must  in- 
crease, and  I  must  decrease."  Oh,  may  God  bring  us  to 
thisj  and  make  us  walk  very  carefully  and  humbly  before 
Jiim.  God  will  search  us  and  try  us,  for  judgment  be- 
gins at  his  own  house,  and  in  that  house  it  begins  with 
his  ministers.  Will  any  of  us  be  found  wanting  ?  Shall 
the  pit  of  hell  draw  a  portion  of  its  wretched  inhabitants 
from  among  our  band  of  pastors  ?  Terrible  will  be  the 
doom  of  a  fallen  preacher:  his  condemnation  will  astonish 
common  transgressors.  "HeU  from  beneath  is  moved  for 
thee  to  meet  thee  at  thy  coming.  All  they  shall  speak 
and  say  unto  thee,  "  Art  thou  also  become  weak  as  we  ? 
Art  thou  become  like  unto  us  ?  "  O  for  the  Sjiirit  of 
God  to  make  and  keep  us  alive  unto  God,  faithful  to 
our  office,  and  useful  to  our  generation,  and  clear  of  toe 
blood  of  men's  souls.  Amen. 


LECTURE  II. 

THE  NECESSITY  OF  MINISTERIAL  PEOGRESS.* 

Dear  Fellow  Soldiers!  We  ai'e  few,  and  we  have  a 
desperate  fight  before  us,  therefore  it  is  needful  that 
every  man  should  be  made  the  most  of,  and  nerved  to 
his  highest  point  of  strength.  It  is  desirable  that  the 
Lord's  ministers  should  be  the  picked  men  of  the 
church,  yea,  of  the  entire  universe,  for  such  the  age  de- 
mands; therefore,  in  reference  to  yourselves  and  jouv 
personal  qualifications,  I  give  you  the  motto,  "  Go  for- 
ward." Go  forward  in  personal  attainments,  forward 
in  gifts  and  in  grace,  forward  in  fitness  for  the  work,  and 
forward  in  conformity  to  the  image  of  Jesus.  The  points 
I  shall  speak  upon  begin  at  the  base,  and  ascend. 

1.  First,  dear  brethren,  I  think  it  necessary  to  say  to 
myself  and  to  you  that  tve  must  go  forward  in  our  mental 
acquirements.  It  will  never  do  for  us  continually  to  pre- 
sent ourselves  to  God  at  our  worst.  We  are  not  wortli 
his  having  at  our  best;  but  at  any  rate  let  not  the  offer- 
ing be  maimed  and  blemished  by  our  idleness.  "Thou 
shall  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart  "  is,  per- 
haps, more  easy  to  comply  with,  than  to  love  him  with 
all  our  mind;  yet  we  must  give  him  our  mind  as  w^ell  a^ 
oar  affections,   and  that  mind  should  be  well  furnished, 

*  This  lecture  was  deUvered  to  ministers  who  liad  been  edu- 
cated at  tlie  Pastors'  College  as  well  as  to  students,  hence  certam 
differences  of  expression. 

46 


THE    NECESSITY    OF    MIXISTKUIAL    PROGRESS.  47 

that  we  111;:  not  offer  Lim  an  empty  casket.  Our  min- 
istry demands  mind.  I  shall  not  insist  upon  "  the 
enligbtenmeut  of  the  age,"  still  it  is  quite  certain  that 
there  is  a  great  educational  advance  among  all  classes, 
and  that  there  will  yet  be  much  more  of  it.  The  time  is 
passed  when  ungrammatical  speech  will  sufi&ce  for  a 
preacher.  Even  in  a  country  village,  where,  according 
to  tradition,  "  nobody  knows  nothing,"  the  schoolmaster 
is  now  abroad,  and  want  of  education  will  hinder  use- 
fulness more  than  it  once  did  ;  for  when  the  sj^eaker 
wishes  his  audience  to  remember  the  gospel,  they  on  the 
other  hand  will  remember  his  ungrammatical  exjDres- 
sions,  and  will  repeat  them  as  themes  for  jest,  when  we 
could  have  wished  they  had  rehearsed  the  divine  doc- 
trines to  one  another  in  solemn  earnest.  Dear  brethren, 
we  must  cultivate  ourselves  to  the  highest  possible  point, 
and  we  should  do  this,  first,  by  gathering  in  knowledge 
that  we  may  fill  the  barn,  then  by  acquiring  discrimi- 
nation that  we  may  winnow  the  heap,  and  lastly  by  a 
firm  retentiveness  of  mind,  by  which  we  may  lay  up  the 
winnowed  grain  in  the  storehouse.  These  three  points 
may  not  be  equally  important,  but  they  are  all  necessary 
to  a  complete  man. 

We  must,  I  say,  make  great  efforts  to  acquire  infor- 
mation, especially  of  a  Biblical  kind.  We  must  not  con- 
fine ourselves  to  one  topic  of  study,  or  we  shall  not  exer- 
cise our  whole  mental  manhood.  God  made  the  world 
for  man,  and  he  made  man  with  a  mind  intended  to 
occupy  and  use  all  the  world  ;  he  is  the  tenant,  and 
nature  is  for  a  while  his  house;  why  should  he  shut 
himself  out  of  any  of  its  rooms?  Whj'  refuse  to  taste 
any  of  the  cleansed  meats  the  great  Father  has  put  upon 
the  table?  Still,  our  main  business  is  to  study  the 
Scriptures.     Tlie  smiths  'nain  business  is  to  shoe  horses: 


48  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

let  him  see  that  he  knows  how  to  do  it,  for  should  he  be 
able  to  belt  an  angel  with  a  girdle  of  gold  he  will  fail  aa 
a  smith  if  he  cannot  make  and  fix  a  horse-shoe.  It  is  a 
small  matter  that  you  should  be  able  to  write  the  most 
brilliant  poetry,  as  possibly  you  could,  unless  you  can 
preach  a  good  and  telling  sermon,  which  wiU  have  the 
effect  of  comforting  saints  and  convincing  sinners. 
Study  the  Bible,  dear  brethren,  through  and  through, 
with  all  helps  that  you  can  possibly  obtain :  remember 
that  the  appliances  now  within  the  reach  of  ordinary 
Christians  are  much  more  extensive  than  they  were  in 
our  fathers'  days,  and  therefore  you  must  be  greater 
Biblical  scholars  if  you  would  keep  in  front  of  your 
hearers.  Intermeddle  with  all  knowledge,  but  above  aU 
things  meditate  day  and  night  in  the  law  of  the 
Lord. 

Be  well  instructed  in  theology,  and  do  not  regard  the 
sneers  of  those  who  rail  at  it  because  they  are  ignorant 
of  it.  Many  preachers  are  not  theologians,  and  hence 
the  mistakes  which  they  make.  It  cannot  do  any  hurt 
to  the  most  lively  evangehst  to  be  also  a  sound  the- 
ologian, and  it  mnj  often  be  the  means  of  saving  him 
from  gross  blunders.  Now-a-days  we  hear  men  tear  a 
single  sentence  of  Scripture  from  its  connection,  and  cry 
"  Eureka  !  Eureka  !  "  as  if  they  had  found  a  new  truth; 
and  yet  they  have  not  discovered  a  diamond,  but  a  piece 
of  broken  glass.  Had  they  been  able  to  compare  sj)irit- 
ual  things  with  spiritual,  had  they  understood  the 
analogy  of  the  faith,  and  had  they  been  acquainted  with 
the  holy  learning  of  the  great  Bible  students  of  ages 
past,  they  would  not  have  been  quite  so  fast  in  vaunting 
their  marvellous  knowledge.  Let  us  be  thoroughly  well 
acquainted  with  the  great  doctrines  of  the  AVord  of  God, 
and  let  us  be  mighty  in  expounding  Scripture.     I  am 


THE    JfECESSITY   OF   MI^TISTERIAL   PROGKESS.  49 

sure  that  uo  preacliiug  will  last  so  long,  or  build  up  a 
chiircli  so  well,  as  the  expository.  To  renounce  alto- 
gether the  hortatory  discourse  for  the  expository 
would  be  running  to  a  preposterous  extreme;  but  I  can- 
not too  earnestly  assure  you  that  if  your  ministries  are 
to  be  lastingly  useful  you  must  be  exjDositors.  For  this 
you  must  understand  the  Word  yourselves,  and  be  able 
so  to  comment  upon  it  that  the  people  may.  be  built  up  by 
the  Word.  Be  master  of  your  Bibles,  brethren:  what- 
ever other  works  you  have  not  searched,  be  at  home 
with  the  writings  of  the  proj)hets  and  apostles.  "Let 
the  word  of  God  dwell  in  you  richly." 

Having  given  precedence  to  the  inspired  writings, 
neglect  no  field  of  knowledge.  The  presence  of  Jesus 
on  the  earth  has  sanctified  the  realms  of  nature,  and 
what  he  has  cleansed  call  not  you  common.  All  that 
your  Father  has  made  is  yours,  and  you  should  learn 
from  it.  You  may  read  a  naturalist's  journal,  or  a  trav- 
eller's voyage,  and  find  profit  in  it.  Yes,  and  even  an  old 
herbal,  or  a  manual  of  alchemy  may,  like  Samson's  dead 
lion,  yield  you  honey.  There  are  pearls  in  oyster  shells, 
and  fruits  on  thorny  boughs.  The  paths  of  true  science, 
especiaU}^  natural  history  and  botany,  droj)  fatness.  Ge- 
ology, so  far  as  it  is  fact,  and  not  fiction,  is  full  of  treas- 
ures. History — wonderful  are  the  visions  which  it  makes 
to  pass  before  you — -is  eminently  instructive;  indeed, 
every  portion  of  God's  dominion  in  nature  teems  with 
precious  teachings.  Follow  the  trails  of  knowledge,  ac- 
cording as  you  have  the  time,  the  opportunity,  and  the 
peculiar  faculty;  and  do  not  hesitate  to  do  so  because  of 
any  apprehension  that  you  will  educate  yourselves  up  to 
too  high  a  point.  When  grace  abounds,  learning  will 
not  puff  you  up,  or  injure  your  simpHcity  in  the  gospel. 
Serve  God  with  such  education  as  you  have,  and  thank 


50  LECTURES   TO   Mr   STUDENTS. 

him  for  blowing  through  you  if  you  are  a  ram's  horn, 
but  if  there  be  a  possibility  of  your  becoming  a  silver 
trumpet,    choose  it  rather. 

I  have  said  that  we  must  also  learn  to  discriminate,  and 
at  this  particular  time  that  point  needs  insisting  on. 
Many  run  after  novelties,  charmed  with  every  invention: 
learn  to  judge  between  truth  and  its  counterfeits,  and 
you  will  not  be  led  astray.  Others  adhere  like  limpets 
to  old  teachings,  and  yet  these  may  only  be  ancient  er- 
rors: prove  all  things,  and  hold  fast  that  which  is  good. 
The  use  of  the  sieve,  and  the  winnowing  fan,  is  much  to 
be  commended.  Dear  brethren,  a  man  who  has  asked  of 
the  Lord  to  give  him  clear  eyes  by  which  he  shall  see 
the  truth  and  discern  its  bearings,  and  who,  by  reason  of 
the  constant  exercise  of  his  faculties,  has  obtained  an  ac- 
curate judgment,  is  one  fit  to  be  a  leader  of  the  Lord's 
hosts;  but  all  are  not  such.  It  is  painful  to  observe  hoAV 
many  embrace  anything  if  it  be  but  earnestly  brouglit 
before  then.  They  swallow  the  medicine  of  every  spirit- 
ual quack  who  has  enough  of  brazen  assurance  to  apj)ear 
to  be  sincere.  Be  not  such  children  in  understanding, 
bvit  test  carefully  before  you  accei:)t.  Ask  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  give  you  the  faculty  of  discerning,  so  shall  you 
conduct  your  flocks  far  from  poisonous  meadows,  and 
lead  them  into  safe  pasturage. 

When  in  due  time  you  have  gained  the  power  of  ac- 
quiring knowledge,  and  the  faculty  of  discrimination, 
seek  next  for  ability  to  retain  and  hold  firmly  what  you 
have  learned.  In  these  times  certain  men  glory  in  being 
weathercocks;  they  hold  fast  nothing,  they  have,  in  fact, 
nothing  worth  the  holding.  They  believed  yesterday,  but 
not  that  which  they  believe  to-day,  nor  that  which  they 
will  believe  to-morrow;  and  he  would  be  a  greater  pro- 
phet then  Isaiah  who  should  be  able  to  tell  what  they 


THE   NECESSITY   OF    MINISTERIAL   PKOGEESS.  51 

I 

will  believe  when  next  the  moon  doth  fill  her  horns,  for 
they  are  constantly  altering,  and  seem  to  be  born  under 
that  said  moon,  and  to  partake  of  her  changing  moods. 
These  men  may  be  as  honest  as  they  claim  to  be,  but  of 
what  use  are  they?  Like  good  trees  oftentimes  trans- 
planted, they  may  be  of  a  noble  nature,  but  they  bring 
forth  nothing;  their  strength  goes  out  in  rooting  and  re- 
rooting,  they  have  no  sap  to  spare  for  fruit.  Be  sure 
you  have  the  truth,  and  then  be  sure  you  hold  it.  Be 
ready  for  fresh  truth,  \f  it  be  truth,  but  be  very  chary  how 
you  subscribe  to  the  belief  that  a  better  light  has  been 
found  than  that  of  the  sun.  Those  who  hawk  new  truths 
about  the  street,  as  the  boj's  do  a  second  edition  of  the 
evening  paper,  are  usually  no  better  then  they  should  be. 
The  fair  maid  of  truth  does  not  paint  her  cheeks  and  tire 
her  head  like  Jezebel,  following  every  new  philosophic 
fashion;  she  is  content  with  her  own  native  beauty,  and 
her  aspect  is  in  the  main  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and 
for  ever.  When  men  change  often  they  generally  need 
to  be  changed  in  the  most  emphatic  sense.  Our  "  mod- 
ern thought"  gentry  are  doing  incalculable  mischief 
to  the  souls  of  men,  and  resemble  Nero  fiddling  upon  the 
top  of  a  tower  with  Rome  burning  at  his  feet.  Souls  are 
being  damned,  and  yet  these  men  are  spinning  theories. 
Hell  gapes  wide,  and  vnth.  her  open  mouth  swallows  up 
myriads,  and  those  who  should  spread  the  tidings  of  sal- 
vation are  "x)ra'suing  fresh  lines  of  thought."  Highly 
cultured  soul-murderers  will  find  their  boasted  "  culture" 
to  be  no  excuse  in  the  day  of  judgment.  For  God's 
sake,  let  us  know  how  men  are  to  be  saved,  and  get  to 
the  work:  to  be  for  ever  delibei*ating  as  to  the  jDroper 
mode  of  making  bread  while  a  nation  dies  of  famine  is 
detestable  trifling.  It  is  time  we  knew  what  to  teach,  or 
else  renounced  our  ofiice.     "For  ever  learning  and  never 


02  LECTURES    TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

coming  to  the  truth "  is  the  motto  of  the  worst  rather 
than  the  best  of  men.  I  saw  in  Rome  a  statue  of  a  boy 
extracting  a  thorn  from  his  foot;  I  went  my  way,  and  re- 
turned ill  a  year's  time,  and  there  sat  the  selfsame  boy, 
extracting  the  intruder  still.  Is  this  to  be  our  model  ? 
"  I  shape  my  creed  every  week,"  was  the  confession  of  one 
of  these  divines  to  me.  Whereunto  shall  I  liken  such  un- 
settled ones?  Ai-e  they  not  hke  those  birds  which  fre- 
quent the  Golden  Horn,  and  are  to  be  seen  from  Con- 
stantinople, of  which  it  is  said  that  they  are  always  on 
the  wing,  and  never  rest?  No  one  ever  saw  them  alight 
on  the  water  or  on  the  land,  they  are  for  ever  poised  in 
mid-air.  The  natives  call  them  "lost  souls,"  seeking 
rest  and  fiudiug  none.  Assuredly,  men  who  have  no 
jiersonal  rest  in  the  truth,  if  they  are  not  unsaved  them- 
selves, are,  at  least,  very  unlikely  to  save  others.  He 
who  has  no  assured  truth  to  tell  must  not  wonder  if  his 
hearers  set  small  store  by  him.  We  must  know  the 
truth,  understand  it,  and  hold  it  with  a  firm  grip,  or  we 
cannot  hope  to  lead  others  to  believe  it.  Brethren,  I 
charge  you,  seek  to  know  and  to  discriminate;  and  then, 
having  discriminated,  labor  to  be  rooted  and  grounded 
in  the  truth.  Keep  in  full  operation  the  i^rocesses  of 
tilling  the  barn,  winnowing  the  grain,  and  storing  it  in 
granaries,  so  shall  you  mentally  "  Go  forward." 

2.  We  need  to  go  forward  in  oratorical  qualifications.  I 
am  beginning  at  the  bottom,  but  even  this  is  important, 
for  it  is  a  pity  that  even  the  feet  of  this  image  should  be 
of  clay.  Nothing  is  trilling  which  can  be  of  any  service 
to  our  grand  design.  Only  for  want  of  a  nail  the  horse 
lost  his  shoe;  and  so  became  vintit  for  the  battle;  tba  . 
shoe  was  only  a  trilling  rim  of  iron  which  suiote  the 
ground,  and  yet  the  neck  clothed  with  thunder  was  of  no 
avail  when  the  shoe  was  gone.     A  man  may  be  irretriev- 


THE    NECESSITY   OF   MINISTERIAL   TROGRESS.  53 

ably  ruined  for  spiritual  usefulness,  not  because  he  fails 
either  in  character  or  sjiirit,  but  because  he  breaks 
down  mentally  or  oratorically,  and,  therefore,  I  have  be- 
gun with  these  points,  and  again  remark  that  we  must 
improve  in  utterance.  It  is  not  every  one  of  us  who  can 
speak  as  some  can  do,  and  even  these  men  cannot  speak 
up  to  their  own  ideal.  If  there  be  any  brother  here 
who  thinks  he  can  preach  as  weU  as  he  should,  I  would 
advise  him  to  leave  off  altogether.  If  he  did  so  he 
would  be  acting  as  wisely  as  the  great  painter  who 
broke  his  palette,  and,  turning  to  his  wife,  said,  "  My 
painting  days  are  over,  for  I  have  satisfied  myself,  and 
therefore  I  am  sure  my  power  is  gone."  "Whatever 
other  perfection  may  be  reachable,  I  am  certain  that  he 
who  thinks  he  has  gained  jjerfection  in  oratory  mistakes 
volubility  for  eloquence,  and  verbiage  for  argument. 
I  Whatever  you  may  know,  you  cannot  be  truly  efficient 
ministers  if  you  are  not  "apt  to  teach."  You  know  min- 
jisters  who  have  mistaken  their  calling,  and  evidently 
[have  no  gifts  for  it:  make  sure  that  none  think  the  same 
of  you.  There  are  brethren  in  the  ministry  whose 
speech  is  intolerable;  either  they  rouse  you  to  wrath,  or 
else  they  send  you  to  sleep.  No  chloral  can  ever  equal 
some  discourses  in  sleep-giving  properties;  no  human 
being,  unless  gifted  with  infinite  patience,  could  long- 
endure  to  listen  to  them,  and  nature  does  well  to  give 
the  victim  deliverance  through  sleej).  I  heard  one  say 
the  other  day  that  a  certain  preacher  had  no  more  gifts 
for  the  ministry  than  an  oyster,  and  in  my  own  judg- 
ment this  was  a  slander  on  the  oyster,  for  that  worthy 
bivalve  shows  great  discretion  in  his  openings,  and 
knows  when  to  close.  If  some  men  were  sentenced  to 
hear  their  own  sermons  it  would  be  a  righteous  judg- 
ment  upon  them,    and   they    would   soon   cry  out  wit]) 


54  Lectures  to  my  students. 

Cain,  "My  punishment  is  greater  than  I  can  bear."  Let 
us  not  fall  under  the  same  condemnation. 

Brethren,  we  should  cultivate  a  clear  style.  When  a 
man  does  not  make  me  understand  what  he  means,  it  is 
because  he  does  not  himself  know  what  he  means.  An 
average  hearer,  who  is  unable  to  follow  the  course  of 
thought  of  the  preacher,  ought  not  to  worry  himself,  but 
to  blame  the  preacher,  whose  business  it  is  to  make  the 
matter  plain.  If  you  look  down  into  a  well,  if  it  be 
empty  it  will  appear  to  be  very  deep,  but  if  there  be 
water  in  it  you  will  see  its  brightness.  I  believe  that 
many  "  deep  "  preachers  are  simj^ly  so  because  they  are 
like  dry  wells  with  nothing  whatever  in  them,  except 
decaying  leaves,  a  few  stones,  and  loerhajDS  a  dead  cat  or 
two.  If  there  be  living  water  in  your  preaching  it  ma;^ 
be  very  deep,  but  the  light  of  truth  will  give  clearness 
to  it.  It  is  not  enough  to  be  so  plain  that  you  can  be 
understood,  you  must  speak  so  that  you  cannot  be  mis- 
understood. 

"VVe  must  cultivate  a  cogent  as  well  as  a  clear  style;  our 
speech  must  be  forceful.  Some  imagine  that  this  con- 
sists in  speaking  loudly,  but  I  can  assure  them  they  are 
in  error.  Nonsense  does  not  imj)rove  by  being  bel- 
lowed. God  does  not  require  us  to  shout  as  if  we  were 
speaking  to  ten  thousand  when  we  are  only  addressing 
three  hundred.  Let  us  be  forcible  by  reason  of  the  ex- 
cellence of  our  matter,  and  the  energy  of  spirit  which  we 
throw  into  the  delivery  of  it.  In  a  word,  let  our  speak- 
ing be  natural  and  living.  I  hope  we  have  forsworn 
the  tricks  of  professional  orators,  the  strain  for  effect, 
the  studied  climax,  the  pre-arranged  pause,  the  theatric 
"strut,  the  mouthing  of  words,  and  I  know  not  what  be- 
sides, which  _yoa  may  see  in  certain  pompous  divines 
who  still  survive  upon  the  face  of  the  earth.     May  such 


THE    NECESSITY    OF   MINISTERIAL   PROGRESS.  55 

liecome  extinct  animals  ere  long,  and  may  a  living,  nat- 
ural, simple  wa}^  of  talking  out  the  gospel  be  learned  b^- 
us  all;  for  I  am  persuaded  that  such  a  style  is  one  which 
God  is  likely  to  bless. 

Among  many  other  things,  we  must  cultivate  persua- 
siveness. Some  of  our  brethren  have  great  influence 
over  men,  and  yet  others  with  greater  gifts  are  devoid  of 
it;  these  last  do  not  appear  to  get  near  to  the  people, 
they  cannot  grip  them  and  make  them  feel.  There  are 
preachers  who  in  their  sermons  seem  to  take  their  hearers 
one  by  one  by  the  button-hole,  and  drive  the  truth  right 
into  their  souls,  while  others  generalize  so  much,  and  are 
so  cold  withal,  that  one  would  think  they  were  speaking 
of  dwellers  in  some  remote  planet,  whose  affairs  did  not 
much  concern  them.  Learn  the  art  of  pleading  with 
men.  You  will  do  this  well  if  you  often  see  the  Lord. 
If  I  remember  rightly,  the  old  classic  story  tells  us  that, 
when  a  soldier  was  about  to  kill  Darius,  his  son,  who 
had  been  dumb  from  his  childhood,  suddenly  cried  out 
in  surprise,  "  Know  you  not  that  he  is  the  king  ?  "  His 
silent  tongue  was  unloosed  by  love  to  his  father,  and 
well  may  ours  find  earnest  speech  when  the  Lord  is 
seen  by  us  crucified  for  sin.  If  there  be  any  speech  in 
us,  this  will  rouse  it.  The  knowledge  of  the  terrors  of 
the  Lord  should  also  bestir  us  to  persuade  men.  We 
cannot  do  other  than  plead  with  them  to  be  reconciled 
to  God.  Brethren,  mark  those  who  woo  sinners  to 
Jesus,  find  out  their  secret,  and  never  rest  till  you  ob- 
tain the  same  power.  If  you  find  them  very  simj^le  and 
homely,  yet  if  you  see  them  really  useful,  say  to  your- 
self, "That  is  my  fashion;"  but  if  on  the  other  hand 
you  listen  to  a  preacher  who  is  much  admired,  aiid 
on  inquiry  find  that  no  souls  are  savingly  converted, 
say   to   yourself,    "  This   is   not   the   thing   for  me,    for 


56  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

I    am    not    seeking    to    be    great,    but    tp    be    really 
useful." 

Let  your  oratory,  therefore,  constantly  improve  in 
clearness,  cogency,  naturalness,  and  persuasiyeness. 
Try,  dear  brethren,  to  get  such  a  style  of  speaking  that 
you  suit  yourselves  to  your  audiences.  Much  lies  in  that. 
The  j)reacher  who  should  address  an  educated  congrega- 
tion in  the  language  which  he  would  use  in  speaking  to 
a  com])any  of  costermongers  would  prove  himself  a  fool: 
and  on  the  other  hand,  he  who  goes  down  amongst  miners 
and  colliers  with  technical  theological  terms  and  draw- 
ing-room phrases  acts  like  an  idot.  The  confusion  of 
tongues  at  Babel  was  more  thorough  than  we  imagine. 
It  did  not  merely  give  different  languages  to  great 
nations,  but  it  made  the  speech  of  each  class  to  vary 
from  that  of  others.  A  fellow  of  Billingsgate  cannot  un- 
derstand a  fellow  of  Brazenose.  Now  as  the  costermon- 
ger  cannot  learn  the  language  of  the  college,  let 
the  college  learn  the  language  of  the  costermonger. 
"We  use  the  language  of  the  market,"  said  Whitfield, 
and  this  was  much  to  his  honor;  yet  when  he  stood  in 
the  drawing-room  of  the  Countess  of  Huntingdon,  and 
his  speech  entranced  the  infidel  noblemen  whom  she 
brought  to  hear  him,  he  adopted  another  style.  His 
language  was  equally  plain  in  each  case,  because  it  was 
equally  familiar  to  the  audience;  he  did  not  use  the  ^J)- 
sissima  verba,  or  his  language  would  have  lost  its  plain- 
ness in  the  one  case  or  the  other,  and  would  either  have 
been  slang  to  the  nobility,  or  Greek  to  the  crowd.  In 
our  modes  of  speech  we  should  aim  at  being  "  all  things 
to  all  men."  He  is  the  greatest  master  of  oratory  who 
is  able  to  address  any  class  of  people  in  a  manner  suita- 
ble to  their  condition,  and  likely  to  touch  their  hearts. 

Brethren,  let  none  excel  us  in  power  of  speech:  let 


THE    NECEiSSlTY"    OF   MIXISTEKIAL   I'ltOGUESS.  57 

none  surj^ass  us  in  tlie  mastery  of  our  mother  tongue. 
Beloved  fellow-soldiers,  our  tongues  are  the  swords 
which  God  has  given  us  to  use  for  him,  Qven  as  it  is  said 
of  our  Lord,  "  Out  of  his  mouth  Avent  a  two-edged 
sword."  Let  these  swords  be  sharp.  Cultivate  your 
powers  of  speech,  and  be  amongst  the  foremost  in  tlie 
land  for  utterance.  I  do  not  exhort  you  to  this  because 
you  are  remarkably  deficient;  far  from  it,  for  everybody 
says  to  me,  "  We  know  the  college  men  by  their  plain, 
bold  speech."  This  leads  me  to  believe  that  you  have 
the  gift  largely  in  you,  and  I  beseech  you  to  take  pains 
to  perfect  it. 

3.  Brethren,  we  must  be  even  more  earnest  to  go  for- 
ward in  moral  qualities.  Let  the  points  I  shall  mention 
here  come  home  to  those  who  shall  require  them,  but  I 
assure  you  I  have  no  special  persons  among  you  in  my 
mind's  eye.  We  desire  to  rise  to  the  highest  style  of 
ministry,  and  if  so,  even  if  we  obtain  the  mental  and  ora- 
torical qiialifications,  we  shall  fail,  unless  we  also  possess 
high  moral  qualities. 

There  are  evils  which  we  must  shake  off,  as  Paul  shook 
the  viper  from  his  hand,  and  there  are  virtues  which  we 
must  gain  at  any  cost. 

Self-indulgence  has  slain  its  thousands;  let  us  tremble 
lest  we  perish  by  the  hands  of  that  Delilah.  Let  its  have 
every  passion  and  habit  under  due  restraint:  if  we  are 
not  masters  of  ourselves  we  are  not  fit  to  be  leaders  in 
the  church. 

We  must  put  away  all  notion  of  self-importance.  God 
will  not  bless  the  man  who  thinks  himself  great.  To 
glory  even  in  the  work  of  God  the  Holy  Spirit  in  yourself 
is  to  tread  dangerously  near  to  self-adulation.  "  Let 
another  praise  thee,  and  not  thine  own  lips,"  and  be  very 
glad  when  that  other  has  sense  enough  to  hold  his  tong-ue. 


58  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

We  must  also  have  our  tempers  well  under  resUaiiit. 
A  vigorous  temper  is  not  altogether  an  evil.  Men  who 
are  as  easy  as  an  old  shoe  are  generally  of  as  little 
worth.  I  would  not  say  to  you,  "  Dear  brethren,  have 
a  temper,"  but  I  do  say,  "If  you  have  it,  control  it 
carefully."  I  thank  God  when  I  see  a  minister  have 
temper  enough  to  be  indignant  at  wrong,  and  to  be  firm 
for  the  right;  still  temper  is  an  edged  tool,  and  often 
cuts  the  man  who  hanelles  it.  "  Gentle,  easy  to  be  en- 
treated," preferring  to  bear  evil  rather  than  inflict  it,  this 
is  to  be  our  spirit.  If  any  brother  here  naturally  boilfi 
over  too  soon,  let  him  mind  that  when  he  does  do  so  he 
scolds  nobody  but  the  devil,  and  then  let  him  boil  away. 

We  must  conquer — some  of  us  especially — our  ten- 
dency to  levity.  A  great  distinction  exists  between 
holy  cheerfulness,  which  is  a  virtue,  and  that  general 
levity,  which  is  a  vice.  There  is  a  levity  which  has  n-at 
enough  heart  to  laugh,  but  trifles  with  everything;  it*  is 
flipi^ant,  hollow,  unreal.  A  hearty  laugh  is  no  more  lev- 
ity than  a  hearty  cry.  I  speak  of  that  religious  veneer- 
ing which  is  pretentious,  but  thin,  superficial,  and  in- 
sincere about  the  weightiest  matters.  Godliness  is  no 
jest,  nor  is  it  a  mere  form.  Beware  of  being  actors. 
Never  give  earnest  men  the  imjDression  that  you  do  not 
mean  what  you  say,  and  are  mere  professionals.  To  be 
burning  at  the  lip  and  freezing  at  the  soul  is  a  mark  of 
reprobation.  God  deliver  us  from  being  suj^erfine  and 
superficial :  may  we  never  be  the  butterflies  of  the  gar- 
den of  God. 

At  the  same  time,  we  should  avoid  everthing  like  the 
ferocity  of  bigotry.  I  know  a  class  of  religious  people 
who,  I  have  no  doubt,  were  born  of  a  woman,  but  they 
appear  to  have  been  suckled  by  a  wolf.  I  have  done 
them  no  dishonor:  were  not  Romulus  and  Remus,  the 


THE   NECESSITY    OF    MINISTERIAL   PROGRESS.  59 

founders  of  Rome,  so  reared?  Some  warlike  men  of 
this  order  have  had  sufficient  mental  power  to  found 
dynasties  of  thought;  but  human  kindness  and  brotherly 
love  consort  better  with  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  We  are 
not  to  go  about  the  world  searching  out  heresies,  like  ter- 
rier dogs  sniffing  for  rats:  nor  are  we  to  be  so  confident 
of  our  own  infallibility  as  to  erect  ecclesiastical  stakes  at 
which  to  roast  all  who  differ  from  us,  not,  'tis  true,  with 
fagots  of  wood,  but  with  those  coals  of  juniper,  which 
consist  of  strong  prejudice  and  cruel  suspicion. 

In  addition  to  all  this,  there  are  mannerisms,  and 
moods,  and  ways  which  I  cannot  now  describe,  against 
which  we  must  struggle,  for  little  faults  may  often  be  the 
source  of  failure,  and  to  get  rid  of  them  may  be  the 
secret  of  success.  Count  nothing  little  which  even  in  a 
small  degree  hinders  your  usefulness;  cast  out  from  the 
temjDle  of  your  souls  the  seat  of  them  that  sell  doves  as 
well  as  the  traffickers  in  sheep  and  oxen. 

And,  dear  brethren,  we  must  acquire  certain  moral 
faculties  and  habits,  as  well  as  put  aside  their  opposites. 
He  will  never  do  much  for  Grod  who  has  not  integrity  of 
spirit.  If  we  be  guided  by  policy,  if  there  be  any  mode 
of  action  for  us  but  that  which  is  straightforward,  we 
shall  make  shipwreck  before  long.  Resolve,  dear  breth- 
ren, that  you  can  be  poor,  that  you  can  be  despised, 
that  you  can  lose  life  itself,  but  that  you  cannot  do  a 
crooked  thing.     For  you,  let  the  only  policy  be  honesty. 

May  you  also  possess  the  grand  moral  characteristic 
of  courage.  By  this  we  do  not  mean  impertinence,  im- 
pudence, or  self-conceit;  but  real  courage  to  do  and  say 
calmly  the  right  thing,  and  to  go  straight  on  at  aU 
hazards,  though  there  should  be  none  to  give  you  a  good 
word.  I  am  astonished  at  the  number  of  Christians  who 
are  afraid  to  sj)eak  the  truth  to  their  brethren.     I  thank 


60  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

God  I  can  say  this,  there  is  no  member  of  my  church,  no 
officer  of  the  church,  and  no  man  in  the  world  to  whom 
I  am  afraid  to  say  before  his  face  what  I  would  say  be- 
hind his  back.  Under  God  I  owe  my  position  in  my  own 
church  to  the  absence  of  all  policy,  and  the  habit  of  say- 
ing what  I  mean.  The  j)lan  of  making  things  pleasant  all 
round  is  a  perilous  as  well  as  a  wicked  one.  If  you  say 
one  thing  to  one  man,  and  another  to  another,  they  will 
one  day  comj^are  notes  and  find  you  out,  and  then  you 
will  be  desj^ised.  The  man  of  two  faces  will  sooner  or 
later  be  the  object  of  contempt,  and  justly  so.  Above  all 
things,  avoid  cowardice,  for  it  makes  men  liars.  If  you 
have  anything  that  you  feel  you  ought  to  say  about  a  man, 
let  the  measure  of  what  you  say  be  this — "  How  much 
dare  I  say  to  his  face  ?  "  You  must  not  allow  yourselves 
a  word  more  in  censure  of  any  man  living.  If  that  be 
your  rule,  your  courage  will  save  you  from  a  thousand 
difficulties,  and  win  you  lasting  resj)ect. 

Having  the  integrity  and  the  courage,  dear  brethren, 
may  you  be  gifted  with  an  indomitable  zeal.  Zeal — 
what  is  it  ?  How  shall  I  describe  it  ?  Possess  it,  and 
you  will  know  what  it  is.  Be  consumed  with  love  for 
Christ,  and  let  the  flame  burn  continuously,  not  flaming 
up  at  public  meetings  and  dying  out  in  the  routine  work 
of  every  day.  We  need  indomitable  perseverance,  dog- 
ged resolution,  and  a  combination  of  sacred  obstinacy, 
self-denial,  holy  gentleness,  and  invincible  courage. 

Excel  also  in  one  ^'ower,  which  is  both  mental  and 
moral,  namely,  the  power  of  concentrating  all  your 
forces  upon  the  work  to  which  you  are  called.  Collect 
your  thoughts,  rally  all  your  faculties,  mass  your  ener- 
gies, focus  your  capacities.  Turn  all  the  springs  of  your 
soul  into  one  channel,  causing  it  to  flow  onward  in 
an   undivided   stream.       Some   men   lack    tlii;^    quality- 


THE    NECESSITT    OF    MINISTERIAL   PROGRESS.  Ol 

They  scatter  themselves  and  fail.  ]\rass  your  battalions, 
and  hurl  them  upon  the  enemy.  Do  not  try  to  be  great 
at  this  and  great  at  that — to  be  "  everj'thing  by  turns, 
and  nothing  long ;  "  but  suffer  your  entire  nature  to  be 
led  in  captivity  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  lay  everything  at 
his  dear  feet  who  bled  and  died  for  you. 

4.  Above  all  these,  we  need  spiritual  qiialifications 
graces  which  must  be  wrought  in  us  by  the  Lord  him- 
self. This  is  the  main  matter,  I  am  sure.  Other  things 
are  precious,  but  this  is  priceless;  we  must  be  rich 
towards  God. 

We  need  to  know  ourselves.  The  preacher  should  be 
great  in  the  science  of  the  heart,  the  philosoj)hy  of  in- 
ward experience.  There  are  two  schools  of  experience, 
and  neither  is  content  to  learn  from  the  other;  let  us  be 
content,  however,  to  learn  from  both.  The  one  school 
speaks  of  the  child  of  God  as  one  who  knows  the  deep 
depravity  of  his  heart,  who  understands  the  loathsome- 
ness of  his  nature,  and  daily  feels  that  in  his  flesh  there 
dwelleth  no  good  thing.  "  That  man  has  not  the  life  of 
God  in  his  soul,"  say  they,  "  who  does  not  know  and 
feel  this,  and  feel  it  by  bitter  and  painful  experience 
from  day  to  day."  It  is  in  vain  to  talk  to  them  about 
liberty,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost  ;  they  will  not 
have  it.  Let  us  learn  from  these  one-sided  brethren. 
They  know  much  that  should  be  known,  and  woe  to 
that  minister  who  ignores  their  set  of  truths.  Marti  i 
Luther  used  to  say  that  temptation  is  the  best  teacher 
for  a  minister.  There  is  truth  on  that  side  of  the  que  - 
tion.  Another  school  of  believers  dwell  much  upon  th  ■ 
glorious  work  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  rightly  an  1 
blessedly  so.  They  believe  in  the  Spirit  of  God  as  a  cleans- 
ing power,  sweeping  the  Augean  stable  of  the  soul,  and 
making  it  into  a  temple  for  God.     But  frequently  they 


62  LECTUllES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

talk  as  if  they  had  ceased  to  sin,  or  to  be  annoj^ed  by 
temptation;  they  glory  as  if  the  battle  were  already 
fought,  and  the  victory  won.  Let  us  learn  from  these 
brethren.  All  the  truth  they  can  teach  us  let  us  know. 
Let  us  become  familiar  with  the  hill-tops,  and  the  glory 
that  shines  thereon,  the  Hermons  and  the  Tabors, 
where  we  may  be  transfigured  with  our  Lord.  Do  not 
be  afraid  of  becoming  too  holy.  Do  not  be  afraid  of  being 
too  full  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  I  would  have  you  wise  on 
all  sides,  and  able  to  deal  with  man  both  in  his  conflicts 
and  in  his  joys,  as  one  familiar  with  both.  Know  where 
Adam  left  you;  know  where  the  Spirit  of  God  has  placed 
you.  Do  not  know  either  of  these  so  exclusively  as  to 
forget  the  other.  I  believe  that  if  any  men  are  likely  to 
cry,  "  O  wretched  man  that  I  am  !  Who  shall  deliver 
me  from  the  body  of  this  death  ?  "  it  will  always  be  the 
ministers,  because  we  need  to  be  tempted  in  all  points, 
so  that  we  may  be  able  to  comfort  others.  In  a  railway 
carriage  last  week  I  saw  a  poor  man  with  his  leg  placed 
upon  the  seat.  An  official  happening  to  see  him  in  this 
posture,  remarked,  "  Those  cushions  were  not  made  for 
you  to  put  your  dirty  boots  on."  As  soon  as  the  guard 
was  gone  the  man  put  up  his  leg  again,  and  said  to  me, 
*'  He  has  never  broken  his  leg  in  two  j^laces,  I  am  sure, 
or  he  would  not  be  so  sharp  with  me."  When  I  have 
heard  brethren  who  have  lived  at  ease,  enjoying  good 
incomes,  condemning  others  who  are  much  tried,  be- 
cause they  could  not  rejoice  in  their  fashion,  I  have  felt 
that  they  knew  nothing  of  the  broken  bones  which 
others  have  to  carry  throughout  the  whole  of  their  pil- 
grimage. 

Brethren,  know  man  in  Christ,  and  out  of  Christ. 
Study  him  at  his  best,  and  study  him  at  his  worst;  know 
his  anatomy,  his  secrets,  and  his  passions.     You  cannot 


THE   NECESSITY   OF  MINISTEKIAL   PROGRESS.  63 

do  this  by  books;  you  must  have  personal  spiritual  ex- 
perience; God  alone  can  give  you  that. 

AxQong  spiritual  acquirements,  it  is  beyond  all  other 
things  needful  to  know  hitn  who  is  the  sure  remedy  for 
all  human  diseases.  Ktiow  Jesus.  Sit  at  his  feet. 
Consider  his  nature,  his  work,  his  sufferings,  his  glory. 
Rejoice  in  his  presence :  commune  with  him  from  day  to 
day.  To  know  Christ  is  to  understand  the  most  excel- 
lent of  sciences.  You  cannot  fail  to  be  wise  if  you  com- 
mune with  wisdom ;  you  cannot  miss  of  strength  if  you 
have  fellowship  with  the  mighty  Son  of  God.  I  saw  the 
other  day  in  an  Italian  grotto  a  little  fern  which  grew 
where  its  leaves  continually  glistened  and  danced  in  the 
spray  of  a  fountain.  It  was  always  green,  and  neither 
summer's  drought  nor  winter's  cold  affected  it.  So  let 
us  for  ever  abide  under  the  sweet  influeace  of  Jesus' 
love.  Dwell  in  God,  brethren ;  do  not  occasionally  visit 
him,  but  abide  in  him.  They  say  in  Italy  that  where 
the  sun  does  not  enter  the  physician  must.  Where 
Jesus  does  not  shine  the  soul  is  sick.  Bask  in  his  beams 
and  you  shall  be  vigorous  in  the  service  of  the  Lord. 
Last  Sunday  night  I  had  a  text  which  mastered  me : — 
"  No  man  knoweth  the  Son  but  the  Father."  I  told  the 
peojDle  that  poor  sinners  who  hatl  gone  to  Jesus  and 
trusted  him,  thought  they  knew  him,  but  that  they  knew 
only  a  httle  of  him.  Saints  of  sixty  years'  experience, 
who  have  walked  with  him  every  day,  thiiik  they  know 
him;  but  they  are  only  beginners  yet.  The  perfect 
spirits  before  the  throne,  who  have  been  for  five  thou- 
sand years  perpetually  adoring  him,  perhaps  think  they 
know  him,  but  they  do  not  to  the  full.  "  No  man  know- 
eth the  Son  but  the  Father."  He  is  so  glorious,  that 
only  the  infinite  God  has  fuU  knowledge  of  him,  there- 
fore there  will  be  no  limit  to  our  study,  or  narrowness 


04  LECTUEES   TO   MY    STItDENTS. 

in  otir  line  of  thought,  if  we   make  our  Lord  the  great 
object  of  all  our  meditations. 

Brethren,  as  the  outcome  of  this,  if  we  are  to  be 
strong  men,  we  must  be  conformed  to  our  Lord.  Oh, 
to  be  like  him  !  Blessed  be  that  cross  on  which  we 
shall  suffer,  if  we  suffer  for  being  made  like  unto  the 
Lord  Jesus.  If  we  obtain  conformity  to  Christ,  we  shall 
have  a  wondrous  unction  upon  our  ministry,  and  with- 
out that,  what  is  a  ministry  worth  ? 

In  a  word,  we  must  labor  for  holiness  of  character. 
What  is  holiness  ?  It  is  not  wholeness  of  character  ?  a 
balanced  condition  in  which  there  is  neither  lack  nor  re- 
dundance ?  It  is  not  morality,  that  is  a  cold,  lifeless 
statue;  holiness  is  life.  You  must  have  holiness  ;  and, 
dear  brethren,  if  you  should  fail  in  mental  qualifications 
(as  I  hope  you  will  not),  and  if  you  should  have  a  slen- 
der measure  of  the  oratorical  faculty  (as  I  trust  you  will 
not),  yet,  depend  upon  it,  a  holy  life  is,  in  itself,  a  won- 
derfvd  power,  and  will  make  up  for  many  deficiencies;  it 
is,  in  fact,  the  best  sermon  the  best  man  can  deliver. 
Let  us  resolve  that  all  the  purity  which  can  be  had  we 
will  have,  that  all  the  sanctity  which  can  be  reached  we 
will  obtain,  and  that  all  the  likeness  to  Christ  that  is 
possible  in  this  world  of  sin  shall  certainly  be  in  us 
through  the  work  of  the  Spirit  of  G-od.  The  Lord  lift 
us  all  as  a  college  right  up  to  a  higher  platform,  and  he 
shall  have  the  glory  ! 

5.  Still  I  have  not  done,  dear  brethren.  I  have  to  say 
to  you,  go  forward  in  actual  ivorJc,  for,  after  all,  we  shall 
be  known  by  what  we  have  done.  We  ought  to  be 
mighty  in  deed  as  well  as  word.  There  are  good  breth- 
ren in  the  world  who  are  impractical.  The  grand  doe- 
trine  of  the  second  advent  makes  them,  stand  with  open 
mouths,  peering  into  the  skies,  so  that  I  am  ready  to 


THE   NECESSITY   OF   MINISTERIAL   PROGRESS.  65 

say,  "  Ye  men  of  Plymouth,  why  stand  ye  here  gazing  up 
into  heaven  ?  "  The  fact  that  Jesus  Christ  is  to  come  is 
not  a  reason  for  star-gazing,  but  for  working  in  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Be  not  so  taken  up  with 
speculations  as  to  prefer  a  Bible  reading  over  a  dark 
passage  in  the  Revelation  to  teaching  in  a  ragged-school 
or  discoursing  to  the  poor  concerning  Jesus.  We  must 
have  done  with  day-dreams,  and  get  to  work.  I  believe 
in  eggs,  but  we  must  get  chickens  out  of  them.  I  do  not 
mind  now  big  your  egg  is;  it  may  be  an  ostrich's  egg  if 
you  like,  but  if  there  is  nothing  in  it,  pray  clear  away 
the  shells.  If  something  comes  of  it,  God  bless  your 
speculations,  and  even  if  you  should  go  a  httle  fiu'ther 
than  I  think  it  wise  to  venture,  still,  if  you  are  more  use- 
ful, God  be  praised  for  it.  We  want  facts — deeds  done, 
souls  saved.  It  is  all  very  well  to  write  essays,  but  what 
souls  have  you  saved  from  going  down  to  hell  ?  "Your 
excellent  management  of  your  school  interests  me,  but 
how  many  children  have  been  brought  into  the  church 
by  it  ?  We  are  glad  to  hear  of  those  special  meetings, 
but  how  many  have  really  been  born  to  God  in  them  ? 
Are  saints  edified  ?  Are  sinners  converted  ?  To  swing 
to  and  fro  on  a  five-barred  gate  is  not  progress,  yet 
some  seem  to  think  so.  I  see  them  in  perpetual 
Elysium,  humming  over  to  themselves  and  their  fi-iends, 
"  We  are  very  comfortable."  God  save  us  from  living  in 
comfort  while  sinners  are  sinking  into  hell.  In  travel- 
ling along  the  mountain  roads  in  Switzerland  you  will 
continually  see  marks  of  the  boring-rod;  and  in  every 
minister's  life  there  should  be  traces  of  stern  labor. 
Brethren,  do  something;  do  something;  do  something. 
While  committees  waste  their  time  over  resolutions,  do 
something.  While  Societies  and  Unions  are  making 
constitutions,  let  us  win  souls.     Too   often  we  discuss. 


00  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

and  discuss,  and  discuss,  and  Satan  lauglis  in  his  sleeve. 
It  is  time  we  bad  done  planning  and  sought  something 
to  plan.  I  pray  you,  be  men  of  action  all  of  you.  Get 
to  work  and  quit  yourselves  like  men.  Old  Suwarrow's 
idea  of  war  is  mine:  "  Forward  and  strike!  No  theory! 
Attack !  Form  column !  Charge  bayonets !  Plunge 
into  the  centre  of  the  enemy. "  Our  one  aim  is  to  save 
sinners,  and  this  we  are  not  to  talk  about,  but  to  do  in 
the  power  of  God. 

6.  Lastly,  and  here  I  am  going  to  deliver  a  message 
which  weighs  ujDon  me, — Go  forward  in  the  matter  of 
the  choice  of  your  sphere  of  action.  I  plead  this  day  for 
those  who  cannot  plead  for  themselves,  namely,  the  great 
outlying  masses  of  the  heathen  world.  Our  existing  pul- 
pits are  tolerably  well  supj^lied,  but  we  need  men  who 
will  build  on  new  foundations.  Who  will  do  this?  Are 
we,  as  a  company  of  faithful  men,  clear  in  our  con- 
sciences about  the  heathen  ?  Millions  have  never  heard 
the  name  of  Jesus.  Hundreds  of  millions  have  seen  a 
missionary  only  once  in  their  lives,  and  know  nothing  of 
our  King.  Shall  we  let  them  perish  ?  Can  we  go  to  our 
beds  and  sleep  while  China,  India,  Japan,  and  other 
nations  are  being  damned?  Are  we  clear  of  their  blood? 
Have  they  no  claim  uj)on  us?  We  ought  to  jDut  it  on 
this  footing — not  "Can  I  prove  that  I  ought  to  go?"  but 
"  Can  I  prove  that  I  ought  not  to  go  ?  "  When  a  man  can 
prove  honestly  that  he  ought  not  to  go,  then  he  is  clear, 
but  not  else.     What  answer  do  you  give,  my  brethren  ? 

1  put  it  to  you  man  by  man.  I  am  not  raising  a  question 
among  you  which  I  have  not  honestly  put  to  myself.  I 
have  felt  that  if  some  of  our  leading  ministers  would 
go  forth  it  would  have  a  grand  effect  in  stimulating  the 
churches,  and  I  have  honestly  asked  myself  whether  I 
ought  to  go.     After  balancing  the  whole  thing  I  feel 


THE   NECESSITY   OF   MINISTERIAL   PROGRESS.  C7 

bound  to  keep  my  place,  and  I  think  the  judgment  of 
most  Christians  would  be  the  same;  but  I  hope  I  would 
cheerfully  go  if  it  were  my  duty  to  do  so.  Brethren,  put 
yourselves  through  the  same  process.  We  must  have 
the  heathen  converted;  God  has  myriads  of  his  elect 
among  them,  we  must  go  and  search  for  them  till  we 
find  them.  Many  difficulties  are  now  removed,  all  lands 
are  open  to  us,  and  distance  is  annihilated.  True  we 
have  not  the  Pentecostal  gift  of  tongues,  but  languages 
are  now  readily  acquired,  while  the  art  of  j)rinting  is  a 
full  equivalent  for  the  lost  gift.  The  dangers  incident  to 
missions  ought  not  to  keep  any  true  man  back,  even  if 
they  were  very  great,  but  they  are  now  reduced  to  a 
minimum.  There  are  hundreds  of  places  where  the  cross 
of  Christ  is  unknown,  to  which  we  can  go  without  risk. 
Who  will  go?  The  men  who  ought  to  go  are  young 
brethren  of  good  abilities  who  have  not  yet  taken  upon 
themselves  family  cares. 

Each  student  entering  the  college  should  consider  this 
matter,  and  surrender  himself  to  the  work,  unless  there 
are  conclusive  reasons  for  his  not  doing  so.  ]t  is  a  fact 
that  even  for  the  colonies  it  is  very  difficult  to  find  men 
for  I  have  had  openings  in  Australia  which  I  have  been 
obliged  to  decline.  It  ought  not  to  be  so.  Surely  there 
is  some  self-sacrifice  among  us  yet,  and  some  among  ns 
are  willing  to  be  exiled  for  Jesus.  The  Mission  lan- 
guishes for  want  of  men.  If  the  men  were  forthcoming 
the  liberality  of  the  church  would  supply  their  needs, 
and,  in  fact,  the  liberality  of  the  church  has  made  the 
supply,  and  yet  there  are  not  the  men  to  go.  I  shall 
never  feel,  brethren,  that  we,  as  a  band  of  men,  have 
done  our  duty  until  we  see  our  comrades  fighting  for 
Jesus  in  every  land  in  the  van  of  conflict.  I  believe  that 
if  G-od  moves  you  to  go,  you  will  be  among  the  best  of 


68  LECTITEES    TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

missionai'ies,  because  you  will  make  the  preaching  of  the 
gospel  the  great  feature  of  your  work,  and  that  is  God's 
sure  way  of  power,     I  wish  that  our  churches  would  im- 
itate  that   of  Pastor    Harms,  in  Germany,  where  every 
member  was  consecrated  to  God  indeed  and  of  a  truth. 
The  farmers  gave  the  produce  of  their  lands,  the  work- 
ingmen  their  labor;  one  gave  a  large  house  to  be  used 
as   a   missionary   college,    and   Pastor    Harms  obtained 
money  for  a  ship  which  he  fitted  out,  to  make  voyages  to 
Africa,    and   then   he  sent  missionaries,  and  little  com- 
panies of  his  people  with  them,  to  form  Christian  com- 
munities among  the  Bushmen.     When  will  our  churches 
be  equally  self-denying  and  energetic?     Look  at  the  Mo- 
ravians !    how  every  man  and  woman  becomes  a  mission- 
ary,   and   how   much    they  do  in  consequence.     Let  us 
catch  their  spirit.     Is  it  a  right  spirit  ?     Then  it  is  right 
for  us  to  have  it.     It  is  not  enough  for  us  to  say,  "  Those 
Moravians   are   very  wonderful  people!"     We  ought  to 
be  wonderful  people  too.    Christ  did  not  purchase  the  Mo- 
ravians any  more  then  he  j)urchased  us;  they  are  under  no 
more   obligation  to  make  sacrifices  then  we  are.     Why 
then  this  backwardness!     When  we  read  of  heroic  men 
who  gave  up  all  for  Jesus,  we  are  not  merely  to  admire, 
but    to    imitate    them.     Who    will   imitate   them   now? 
Come  to  the  point.     Are  there  not  some  among  you  will- 
ing to  consecrate  yourselves  to  the  Lord?     "Forward" 
is  the  watchword  to-day !     Are  there  no  bold  spirits  to 
lead   the  van?     Pray   all  of  you  that  during  this  Pen- 
tecost the  Spirit  may  say,  "  Separate  me  Barnabas  and 
Saul  for  the  work." 
Forward  !     In  God's  name,  Forward  I ! 


LECTURE    III. 

THE  NEED  OF  DECISION  FOR  THE  TRUTH. 

Some  things  are  true  and  some  things  are  false : — I  re- 
gard that  as  an  axiom;  but  there  are  many  persons  who 
evidently  do  not  beHeve  it.  The  current  princijjle  of  the 
present  age  seems  to  be,  "Some  things  are  either  true  or 
false,  according  to  the  point  of  view  from  which  you  look 
at  them.  Black  is  white,  and  white  is  black  accordinsr 
to  circumstances;  and  it  does  not  j)articularly  matter 
which  you  call  it.  Truth  of  course  is  true,  but  it 
would  be  rude  to  say  that  the  ojiposite  is  a  lie ;  we  must 
not  be  bigoted,  but  remember  the  motto,  '  So  many  men, 
so  many  minds.'"  Our  forefathers  were  jDarticular 
about  maintaining  landmarks;  they  had  strong  notions 
about  fixed  points  of  revealed  doctrine,  and  were  very 
tenacious  of  what  they  beheved  to  be  scriptural;  their 
fields  were  protected  by  hedges  and  ditches,  but  their 
sons  have  grubbed  up  the  hedges,  filled  up  the  ditches, 
laid  all  level,  and  played  at  leaji-frog  Avith  the  boundary 
stones.  The  school  of  modern  thought  laughs  at  the 
ridiculous  positiveness  of  Reformers  and  Puritans;  it  is 
advancing  in  glorious  liberality,  and  before  long  wiU 
pubhsh  a  grand  alliance  between  heaven  and  hell,  or, 
rather,  an  amalgamation  of  the  two  establishments  uj)on 
terms  of  mutual  concession,  allowing  falsehood  and  truth 

69 


70  LECTUEES   TO   MY    STUDENTS. 

to  lie  side  by  side,  like  the  lion  with  the  lamb. 
Still,  for  all  that,  my  firm  old-fashioned  behef  is  that 
some  doctrines  are  true,  and  that  statements  which  are 
diametrically  ojDposite  to  them  are  not  true, — that  when 
"  No  "  is  the  fact,  '  Yes"  is  out  of  court,  and  that  when 
"Yes"  can  be  justified  "No"  must  be  abandoned.  I 
believe  that  the  gentleman  who  has  for  so  long  a  time 
perplexed  our  courts  is  either  Sir  Eoger  Tichborne 
or  somebody  else;  I  am  not  yet  able  to  conceive  of  his 
being  the  true  heir  and  an  impostor  at  the  same  time. 
Yet  in  religious  matters  the  fashionable  standpoint  is 
somewhere  in  that  latitude. 

We  have  a  fixed  faith  to  preach,  my  brethren,  and  we 
are  sent  forth  with  a  definite  message  from  God.  We 
are  not  left  to  fabricate  the  message  as  we  go  along. 
We  are  not  sent'  forth  by  our  Master  with  a  general 
commission  arranged  on  this  fashion—  "  As  you  shall 
think  in  your  heart  and  invent  in  your  head,  so  preach. 
Keep  abreast  of  the  time.  Whatever  the  peojDle  want  to 
hear,  tell  them  that,  and  they  shall  be  saved."  Verily, 
we  read  not  so.  There  is  something  definite  in  the 
Bible.  It  is  not  quite  a  lumjj  of  wax  to  be  shaped  at 
our  Avill,  or  a  roll  of  cloth  to  be  cut  according  to  the 
prevailing  fashion.  Your  great  thinkers  evidently  look 
upon  the  Scriptures  as  a  box  of  letters  for  them  to 
play  with,  and  make  what  they  like  of,  or  a  wizard's  bottle, 
out  of  which  they  may  pour  anything  they  choose,  from 
atheism  up  to  spiritualism.  I  am  too  old-fashioned  to  fall 
down  and  worship  this  theory.  There  is  something  told 
rae  in  the  Bible — told  me  for  certain — not  put  before 
me  with  a  "  but"  and  a  "  perhaps,"  and  an  "  if,"  and  a  "may 
be, "  and  fifty  thousand  suspicions  behind  it,  so  that  really 
the  long  and  the  short  of  it  is,  that  it  may  not  be  so  at 
all;  but  revealed  to  me  as  infallible  fact,  which  must  be 


THE  NEED  OF  DECISION  FOR  THE  TRUTH.     71 

believed,   the  opposite   of  which  is  deadly  error,   and 
comes  from  the  father  of  lies. 

Beheving,  therefore,  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as 
truth,  and  such  a  thing  as  falsehood,  that  there  are 
truths  in  the  Bible,  and  that  the  gospel  consists  in 
something  definite  which  is  to  be  believed  by  men,  it  be- 
comes us  to  be  decided  as  to  what  we  teach,  and  to 
teach  it  in  a  decided  manner.  We  have  to  deal  with 
men  who  will  be  either  lost  or  saved,  and  they  certainly 
will  not  be  saved  by  erroneous  doctrine.  We  have  to 
deal  with  God,  whose  servants  we  are,  and  he  will  not 
be  honored  by  our  delivering  falsehoods;  neither  will  he 
give  us  a  reward,  and  say,  "  Well  done,  good  and  faith- 
ful servant,  thou  hast  mangled  the  gospel  as  judi- 
ciously as  any  man  that  ever  lived  before  thee."  We  stand 
in  a  very  solemn  position,  and  ours  should  be  the  spirit 
of  old  Micaiah,  who  said,  "  As  the  Lord  my  God  liveth, 
before  whom  I  stand,  whatsoever  the  Lord  saith  unto 
me  that  wiU  I  speak."  Neither  less  nor  more  than 
God's  word  are  we  called  to  state,  but  that  word  we 
are  bound  to  declare  in  a  spirit  which  convinces  the 
sons  of  men  that,  whatever  they  may  think  of  it,  we 
believe  God,  and  are  not  to  be  shaken  in  our  confidence 
in  him. 

Brethren,  in  tvhat  ought  ive  to  he  positive  ?  Well,  there 
are  gentlemen  ahve  who  imagine  that  there  are  no  fixed 
principles  to  go  upon.  "  Perhaps  a  few  doctrines,"  said 
one  to  me,  "  perhaps  a  few  doctrines  may  be  considered  as 
established.  Is  is,  perhaj^s,  ascertained  that  there  is  a 
God;  but  one  ought  not  to  dogmatize  upon  his  person- 
ality: a  great  deal  may  be  said  for  pantheism."  Such 
men  creep  into  the  ministry,  but  they  are  generally  cun- 
ning enough  to  conceal  the  breadth  of  their  minds 
beneath  Christain    phraseology,  thus  acting  in  consist- 


72  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

ency  with  their  principles,  for  their  fundamental  rule  is 
that  truth  is  of  no  consequence. 

As  for  us — as  for  me,  at  any  rate — I  am  certain  that 
there  is  a  God,  and  I  mean  to  preach  it  as  a  man  does 
who  is  absolutely  sure.  He  is  the  Maker  of  heaven  and 
earth,  the  Master  of  j)rovidence,  and  the  Lord  of  grace: 
let  his  name  be  blessed  for  ever  and  ever !  We  will 
have  no  questions  and  debates  as  to  him. 

We  are  equally  certain  that  the  book  which  is  called 
"  the  Bible  "  is  his  word,  and  is  inspired :  not  inspired 
in  the  sense  in  which  Shakespeare,  and  Milton,  and  Dry- 
den  may  be  inspired,  but  in  an  infinitely  higher  sense; 
so  that,  provided  we  have  the  exact  text,  we  regard  the 
words  themselves  as  infallible.  We  believe  that  every- 
thing stated  in  the  book  that  comes  to  us  from  God  is  to 
be  accepted  by  us  as  his  sure  testimony,  and  nothing 
less  than  that.  God  forbid  we  should  be  ensnared  by 
those  various  interpretations  of  the  modus  of  inspiration, 
which  amount  to  little  more  than  frittering  it  away. 
The  book  is  a  divine  production;  it  is  perfect,  and  is  the 
last  court  of  appeal — "  the  judge  which  ends  the  strife." 
I  would  as  soon  dream  of  blasjjheming  my  Maker  as  of 
questioning  the  infallibility  of  his  word. 

We  are  also  sure  concerning  the  doctrine  of  the 
blessed  Trinity.  We  cannot  explain  how  the  Father, 
Son,  and  Spirit  can  be  each  one  distinct  and  perfect  in 
himself,  and  yet  that  these  three  are  one,  so  that  there  is 
but  one  God;  yet  we  do  verily  believe  it,  and  mean  to 
preach  it,  notwithstanding  Unitarian,  Socinian,  Sabel- 
lian,  or  any  other  error.  We  shall  hold  fast  evermore 
the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  in  Unity. 

And,  brethren,  there  wiU  be  no  uncertain  sound  from 
us  as  to  the  atonement  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  We 
cannot  leave  the  blood  out  of  our  ministry,  or  the  life  of 


THE    NEED    OF    DECISION   FOE    THE   TEIITH.  7.3 

it  will  be  gone ;  for  we  may  say  of  the  gospel,  "  The 
blood  is  the  life  thereof."  The  j^roper  substitution  of 
Christ,  the  vicarious  sacrifice  of  Christ,  ou  the  behalf  of 
his  jieople,  that  they  might  live  through  him, — this  we 
must  publish  till  we  die. 

Neither  can  we  waver  in  our  mind  for  a  moment  con- 
cerning the  great  and  glorious  Spirit  of  God— the  fact 
of  his  existence,  his  personality,  the  power  of  his  work- 
ing, the  necessity  of  his  influences,  the  certainty  that  no 
man  is  regenerated  except  by  him;  that  we  are  born 
again  by  the  Spu'it  of  God,  and  that  the  Sf)irit  dwells  in 
believers,  and  is  the  author  of  all  good  in  them,  their 
sanctifier  and  preserver,  without  whom  they  can  do  no 
good  thing  whatsoever: — we  shall  not  at  all  hesitate  as 
to  preaching  these  truths. 

The  absolute  necessity  of  the  new  bii'th  is  also  a  cer- 
tainty. We  come  down  with  demonstration  when  we 
touch  that  point.  We  shall  never  poison  our  people 
with  the  notion  that  a  moral  reformation  will  suffice,  but 
we  will  over  and  over  again  say  to  them,  "  Ye  must  be 
born  again."  We  have  not  got  into  the  condition  of  the 
Scotch  minister  who,  when  old  John  Macdonald 
preached  to  his  congregation  a  sermon  to  sinners,  re- 
marked, "  Well,  Mr.  Macdonald,  that  was  a  very  good 
sermon  which  you  have  preached,  but  it  is  very  much 
out  of  place,  for  I  do  not  know  one  single  unregenerate 
person  in  my  congregation."  Poor  soul,  he  was  in  all 
probability  unregenerated  himself.  No,  we  dare  not 
flatter  our  hearers,  but  we  must  continue  to  tell  them 
that  they  are  born  sinners,  and  must  be  born  saints,  or 
they  will  never  see  the  face  of  God  with  acceptance. 

The  tremendous  evil  of  sin — we  shall  not  hesitate 
about  that.  We  shall  speak  on  that  matter  both  sor- 
rowfully and  positively;    and,  though   some   very   wise 


74  LECTURES    TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

men  raise  difficult  questions  about  liell,  we  shall  not  fail 
to  declare  the  terrors  of  the  Lord,  and  the  fact  that  the 
Lord  has  said,  "  These  shall  go  away  into  everlasting 
punishment,  but  the  righteous  into  life  eternal." 

Neither  will  we  ever  give  an  uncertain  sound  as  to  the 
glorious  truth  that  salvation  is  aU  of  grace..  If  ever  we 
ourselves  are  saved,  we  know  that  sovereign  grace  alone 
has  done  it,  and  we  feel  it  must  be  the  same  with  others. 
We  will  publish,  "  Grace !  grace !  grace !  "  with  all  our 
might,  living  and  dying. 

We  shall  be  very  decided,  also,  as  to  justification  by 
faith;  for  salvation  is  "Not  of  works,  lest  any  man 
should  boast."  "Life  in  a  lobk  at  the  Crucified  One" 
will  be  our  message.  Trust  in  the  Eedeemer  will  be 
that  saving  grace  which  we  will  pray  the  Lord  to  im- 
plant in  all  our  hearers'  hearts. 

And  everything  else  which  we  beheve  to  be  true  in  the 
Scrijitures  we  shall  preach  with  decision.  If  there  be 
questions  which  may  be  regarded  as  moot,  or  compar- 
atively unimportant,  we  shaU  sj^eak  Avith  such  a  measure 
of  decision  about  them  as  may  be  comely.  But  j)oints 
which  cannot  be  moot,  which  are  essential  and  funda- 
mental, will  be  declared  by  us  without  any  stammering, 
without  any  inquiring  of  the  j)eople,  "  What  would  you 
wish  us  to  say  ? "  Yes,  and  without  the  ajjology, 
"  Those  are  my  views,  but  other  people's  views  may  be 
correct."  We  ought  to  preach  the  gospel,  not  as  our 
vieivs  at  all,  but  as  the  mind  of  God — the  testimony  of 
Jehovah  concerning  his  own  Son,  and  in  reference  to 
salvation  for  lost  men.  If  we  had  been  entrusted  with 
the  making  of  the  gosjsel,  we  might  have  altered  it  to 
suit  the  taste  of  this  ujodest  century,  but  never  having 
been  employed  to  originate  the  good  news,  but  merely 
to  repeat  it,  we  dare  not  stir  beyond  the  record.     What 


THE   2fEED    OF   DECISIO>r   FOR    THE    TRUTH.  75 

we  have  been  tauglit  of  God  we  teach.  If  we  do  not  do 
this,  we  are  not  fit  for  our  position.  If  I  have  a  servant 
in  my  house,  and  I  send  a  message  by  her  to  the  door, 
and  she  amends  it  on  her  own  authority,  she  may  take 
away  the  very  soul  of  the  message  by  so  doing,  and  she 
will  be  responsible  for  what  she  has  done.  She  will  not 
remain  long  in  my  employ,  for  I  need  a  servant  who  wiU 
repeat  what  I  say,  as  nearly  as  possible,  word  for  word ; 
and  if  she  does  so,  I  am  responsible  for  the  message,  she 
is  not.  If  any  one  should  be  angry  with  her  on  account 
of  what  she  said,  they  would  be  very  unjust;  their  quar- 
rel hes  with  me,  and  not  with  the  person  whom  I  emplo} 
to  act  as  mouth  for  me.  He  that  hath  God's  Word,  let 
him  speak  it  faithfully,  and  he  will  have  no  need  to 
answer  gainsayers,  except  with  a  "Thus  saith  the  Lord." 
This,  then,  is  the  matter  concerning  which  we  are  de- 
cided. 

How  are  toe  to  show  this  decision  f  We  need  not  be 
careful  to  answer  this  question,  our  decision  will  show  it- 
self in  its  own  waj'.  If  we  really  believe  a  truth,  we  shall 
be  decided  about  it.  Certainly  we  are  not  to  show  our 
decision  by  that  obstinate,  furious,  wolfish  bigotry 
which  cuts  off  every  other  body  from  the  chance  and 
hope  of  salvation  and  the  possibilit}'  of  being  regenerate 
or  even  decently  honest  if  they  happen  to  differ  from  us 
about  the  color  of  a  scale  of  the  great  leviathan.  Some 
individuals  appear  to  be  naturally  cut  on  the  cross; 
they  are  manufactured  to  be  rasps,  and  rasp  they  will. 
Sooner  than  not  quarrel  with  you  they  would  raise  a 
question  upon  the  color  of  invisibility,  or  the  weight  of  a 
non-existent  substance.  They  are  up  in  arms  with  you, 
not  because  of  the  importance  of  the  question  under  dis- 
cussion, but  because  of  the  far  greater  importance  of  their 
being  always  the  Pope  of  the  party.     Don't  go  about  the 


70  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

world  with  your  fist  doubled  up  for  fighting,  carrying  a 
theological  revolver  in  the  leg  of  your  trousers.  There 
is  no  sense  in  being  a  sort  of  doctrinal  game-cock,  to  be 
carried  about  to  show  your  spirit,  or  a  terrier  of  ortho- 
doxy, ready  to  tackle  heterodox  rats  by  the  score. 
Practise  the  suaviter  in  modo  as  well  as  the  fortiter  in  re. 
Be  prepared  to  fight,  and  always  have  your  sword 
buckled  on  your  thigh,  but  wear  a  scabbard;  there  can 
be  no"«ense  in  waving  your  weapon  about,  before  every- 
body's eyes  to  provoke  conflict,  after  the  manner  of  our 
beloved  friends  of  the  Emerald  Isle,  who  are  said  to  take 
their  coats  off  at  Donnybrook  Fair,  and  drag  them  along 
the  ground  crying  out,  while  they  flourish  their  shil- 
lelahs,  "  Will  any  gentleman  be  so  good  as  to  tread  on 
the  tail  of  my  coat  ?  "  These  are  theologians  of  such 
warm,  generous  blood,  that  they  are  never  at  peace  till 
they  are  fully  engaged  in  war. 

If  you  really  believe  the  gospel,  you  will  be  decided 
for  it  in  more  sensible  ways.  Your  very  tone  will  be- 
tray your  sincerity;  you  will  speak  like  a  man  who  has 
something  to  say,  which  he  knows  to  be  true.  Have 
you  ever  watched  a  rogue  when  he  is  about  to  tell  a 
falsehood  ?  Have  you  noticed  the  way  in  which  he  has 
to  mouth  it  ?  It  takes  a  long  time  to  be  able  to  tell  a  lie 
well,  for  the  facial  organs  were  not  originally  constituted 
and  adapted  for  the  complacent  delivery  of  a  falsehood. 
When  a  man  knows  he  is  telling  you  the  truth,  every- 
thing about  him  corroborates  his  sincerity.  Any  accom- 
plished cross-examining  lawyer  knows  within  a  little 
whether  a  witness  is  genuine  or  a  deceiver.  Truth  has 
her  own  air  and  manner,  her  own  tone  and  emphasis. 
Yonder  is  a  blundering,  ignorant  country  fellow  in  the 
witness-box;  the  counsel  tries  to  bamboozle  and  confuse 
him,  if  possible,  but  all  the  while  he  feels  that  he  is  an 


THE  NEED  OF   DECISION  FOR  THE  TRUTH.     77 

honest  witness,  and  he  says  to  himself,  "  I  should  like  to 
shake  this  fellow's  evidence,  for  it  will  greatly  damage 
my  side  of  the  question."  There  ought  to  be  always 
that  same  air  of  truth  about  the  Christian  minister;  only 
as  he  is  not  only  bearing  witness  to  the  truth,  but  wants 
other  people  to  feel  that  truth  and  own  the  power  of  it, 
he  ought  to  have  more  decision  in  his  tone  than  a  mere 
witness  who  is  stating  facts  which  may  be  believed  or 
not  without  any  serious  consequences  following  either 
way.  Luther  was  the  man  for  decision.  Nobody 
doubted  that  he  believed  what  he  spoke.  He  spoke 
with  thunder,  for  there  was  lightning  in  his  faith.  The 
man  preached  all  over,  for  his  entire  nature  believed. 
You  felt,  "  Well,  he  may  be  mad,  or  he  may  be  altogether 
mistaken,  but  he  assuredly  believes  what  he  says.  He 
is  the  incarnation  of  faith;  his  heart  is  running  over  at 
his  lips." 

If  we  wovild  show  decision  for  the  truth,  we  must  not 
only  do  so  by  our  tone  and  manner,  but  by  our  daily 
actions.  A  man's  life  is  always  more  forcible  than  his 
speech;  when  men  take  stock  of  him  they  reckon  his 
deeds  as  pounds  and  his  words  as  pence.  If  his  life  and 
his  doctrines  disagree,  the  mass  of  lookers-on  accept  his 
practice  and  reject  his  preaching.  A  man  may  know  a 
great  deal  about  truth,  and  yet  be  a  very  damaging 
witness  on  its  behalf,  because  he  is  no  credit  to  it.  The 
quack  who  in  the  classic  story  cried  up  an  infallible  cure 
for  colds,  coughing  and  sneezing  between  every  sen- 
tence of  his  panegyric,  may  serve  as  the  image  and  sym- 
bol of  an  unholy  minister.  The  Satyr  in  J^sop's  fable 
was  indignantyyith  the  man  who  blew  hot  and  cold  v/ith 
the  same  moutn,  and  well  he  might  be.  I  can  conceive 
no  surer  method  of  jorejudiciug  men  against  the  truth 
than  by  sounding  her  praises  through  the  lips  of  men  of 


78  LECTUIir.S   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

suspicious  character.  "When  the  devil  turned  preacher 
in  our  Lord's  day,  the  IMaster  "bade  him  hold  his  peace; 
he  did  not  care  for  Satanic  praises.  It  is  very  ridiculous 
to  hear  good  truth  from  a  bad  man  ;  it  is  like  flour  in  a 
coal-sack.  AVhen  I  was  last  in  one  of  our  Scottish 
towns  I  heard  of  an  idiot  at  the  asylum,  who  thought  him- 
self a  great  historic  character.  With  much  solemnity 
the  jDoor  fellow  put  himself  into  an  imioressive  attitude 
and  exclaimed,  "  I'm  Sir  William  Wallace !  Gie  me  a 
bit  of  bacca."  The  descent  from  Su*  William  Wallace  to 
a  piece  of  tobacco  was  too  absurd  for  gravity;  yet  it  was 
neither  so  absiu'd  nor  so  sad  as  to  see  a  professed  am- 
bassador of  the  cross  covetous,  worldly-,  passionate,  or 
sluggish.  How  strange  it  would  be  to  hear  a  man  say, 
"  I  am  a  servant  of  the  Most  High  God,  and  I  will  go 
wherever  I  can  get  the  most  salary.  I  am  called  to  la- 
bor for  the  glory  of  Jesus  only,  and  I  will  go  nowhere 
unless  the  church  is  of  most  resjDectable  standing.  For 
me  to  live  is  Christ,  but  I  cannot  do  it  under  five  hun- 
dred pounds  per  annum." 

Brother,  if  the  truth  be  in  thee  it  will  flow  out  of 
thine  entire  being  as  the  perfume  streams  from  every 
bough  of  the  sandal- wood  tree;  it  will  drive  thee  onward 
as  the  trade-wind  speeds  the  shij^s,  filling  all  their  sails; 
it  will  consume  thy  whole  nature  with  its  energy  as  the 
forest  fire  burns  up'  all  the  trees  of  the  wood.  Truth 
has  not  fully  given  thee  her  friendship  till  all  thy  doings 
are  marked  with  her  seal. 

We  must  show  our  decision  for  the  truth  by  the  sac- 
rifices we  are  ready  to  make.  This  is,  indeed,  the  most 
efficient  as  well  as  the  most  ti-ying  method.  We  must 
be  ready  to  give  up  anything  and  everything  for  the 
sake  of  the  principles  which  we  have  espoused,  and 
must  be  ready  to  ofi"end  our  best  su^Dporters,  to  alienate 


THE  NEED  OF  DECISION  FOR  TUE  TRUTH.     79 

our  warmest  fiieuds,  sooner  than  belie  our  consciences. 
"We  must  be  ready  to  be  beggars  in  purse,  and  off- 
scourings in  reputation,  rather  than  act  treacherously. 
We  can  die,  but  we  cannot  deny  the  truth.  The  cost  is 
already  counted,  and  we  are  determined  to  buy  the 
truth  at  any  price,  and  sell  it  at  no  price.  Too  Httle 
of  this  sj)U'it  is  abroad  now-a-days.  Men  have  a  saving 
faith,  and  save  theii'  own  persons  from  trouble;  they 
have  great  discernment,  and  know  on  which  side  theu" 
bread  is  buttered;  they  are  large-hearted,  and  are  all 
things  to  all  men,  if  by  any  means  they  may  save  a  sum. 
There  are  plenty  of  curs  about,  who  would  follow  at 
the  heel  of  any  man  who  would  keep  them  in  meat. 
They  are  among  the  first  to  bark  at  decision,  and  call  it 
obstinate  dogmatism,  and  ignorant  bigotry.  Their  con- 
demnatory verdict  causes  us  no  distress;  it  is  what  we 
expected. 

Above  all  we  must  show  our  zeal  for  the  truth  by 
continually,  in  season  and  out  of  season,  endeavoring  to 
maintain  it  in  the  tenderest  and  most  loving  manner, 
but  still  very  earnestly  and  firmly.  We  must  not  talk 
to  our  congregations  as  if  we  were  half  asleep.  Our 
preaching  must  not  be  articulate  snoring.  There  must 
be  power,  Hfe,  energy,  vigor.  We  must  throw  our 
whole  selves  into  it,  and  show  that  the  zeal  of  God's 
house  has  eaten  us  up. 

How  are  we  to  manifest  our  decision  ?  Certainly  not 
by  harping  on  one  string  and  repeating  over  and  over 
again  the  same  truths  with  the  declaration  that  we  be- 
lieve them.  Such  a  course  of  action  could  only  suggest 
itself  to  the  incompetent.  The  barrel-organ  grinder  is 
not  a  pattern  of  decision,  he  may  have  persistency,  but 
that  is  not  the  same  thing  as  consistency.  I  could  indi- 
cate certain  brethren  who  have  learned  four  or  five  doc- 


80  LECTUKES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

trines,  and  they  grind  them  over  and  over  again  with 
everlasting  monotony.  I  am  always  glad  when  they 
grind  their  tunes  in  some  street  far  removed  from  my 
abode.  To  weary  with  j^erpetual  repetition  is  not  the 
way  to  manifest  our  firmness  in  the  faith. 

My  brethren,  you  will  strengthen  your  deeision  by  the 
recollection  of  the  importance  of  these  truths  to  your 
own  souls.  Are  your  sins  forgiven  ?  Have  you  a  hope 
of  heaven  ?  How  do  the  solemnities  of  eternity  affect 
you?  Certainly  you  are  not  saved  apart  from  these 
things,  and  therefore  you  must  hold  them,  for  you  feel 
you  are  a  lost  man  if  they  be  not  true.  You  have  to 
die,  and,  being  conscious  that  these  things  alone  can 
sustain  you  in  the  last  article,  you  hold  them  with  all 
your  might.  You  cannot  give  them  up.  How  can  a 
man  resign  a  truth  which  he  feels  to  be  vitally  important 
to  his  own  soul  ?  He  dailj'  feels — "  I  have  to  live  on  it, 
I  have  to  die  on  it,  I  am  wretched  now,  and  lost  for  ever 
aj^art  from  it,  and  therefore  by  the  help  of  God  I  cannot 
relinquish  it." 

Your  own  experience  from  day  to  day  will  sustain  you, 
beloved  brethren.  I  hope  you  have  realized  already  and 
will  experience  much  more  the  power  of  the  truth  which 
you  preach.  I  believe  the  doctrine  of  election,  because  I 
am  quite  sure  that  if  God  had  not  chosen  me  I  should 
never  have  chosen  him;  and  I  am  sure  he  chose  me  be- 
fore I  was  born,  or  else  he  never  would  have  chosen  me 
afterwards;  and  he  must  have  elected  me  for  reasons  un- 
known to  me,  for  I  never  could  find  any  reason  in  myself 
why  he  should  have  looked  upon  me  with  special  love. 
So  I  am  forced  to  accept  that  doctrine.  I  am  bound  to 
the  doctrine  of  the  depravity  of  the  human  heart,  because 
I  find  myself  depraved  in  heart,  and  have  daily  proofs 
that  there  dweUeth  in  mv  flesh  no  good  thing.     I  cannot 


TIIE    XEED    OF    DECISION'    FOR    THE    TRUTH.  81 

help  boldmg  that  there  must  be  an  atouement  before 
there  can  be  pardon,  because  my  conscience  demands  it, 
and  my  peace  depends  upon  it.  The  bttle  court  within 
my  own  heart  is  not  satisfied  unless  some  retribution  be 
exacted  for  dishonor  done  to  God.  They  tell  us  some- 
times that  such  and  such  statements  are  not  true;  but 
when  we  are  able  to  I'eplj  that  we  have  tried  them  and 
proved  them,  what  answer  is  there  to  such  reasoning? 
A  man  propounds  the  wonderful  discovery  that  honey  is 
not  sweet.  "  But  I  had  some  for  breakfast,  and  1  found 
it  very  sweet,"  say  you,  and  your  reply  is  conclusive.  He 
tells  you  that  salt  is  poisonous,  but  you  point  to  yovir 
own  health,  and  declare  that  you  have  eaten  salt  these 
twenty  j-ears.  He  says  that  to  eat  bread  is  a  mistake — a 
vulgar  error,  an  antiquated  absurdity;  but  at  each  meal 
you  make  his  protest  the  subject  for  a  merry  laugh.  If 
you  are  daily  and  habitually  experienced  in  the  truth  of 
God's  Word,  I  am  not  afraid  of  your  being  shaken  in 
mind  in  reference  to  it.  Those  young  fellows  who  never 
felt  conviction  of  sin,  but  obtained  their  religion  as  they 
get  their  bath  in  the  morning,  by  jumping  into  it — ^tliese 
will  as  readily  leap  out  of  it  as  they  leaped  in.  Those 
who  feel  neither  the  joys  nor  yet  the  depressions  of  spirit 
which  indicate  spiritual  life,  are  torpid,  and  their  palsied 
hand  has  no  firm  grip  of  truth.  Mere  skimmers  of  the 
Word,  who,  like  swallows,  touch  the  water  with  their 
wings,  are  the  first  to  fly  from  one  land  to  another  as 
personal  considerations  guide  them.  They  believe  this, 
and  then  believe  that,  for,  in  truth,  they  believe  nothing 
intensely.  If  you  have  ever  been  dragged  through  the 
mire  and  clay  of  soul-despair,  if  you  have  been  turned 
upside  down,  and  wiped  out  like  a  dish  as  to  all  your 
own  strength  and  pride,  and  have  then  been  filled  with 
the  joy  and  peace  of  God,  through  Jesus  Christ,  I  will 


B2  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

trust  you  among  fifty  thousand  infidels.  Whenever  I 
hear  the  sceptic's  stale  attacks  upon  the  Word  of  God,  I 
smile  within  myself,  and  think,  "Why,  you  simpleton! 
how  can  you  urge  such  trifiing  objections?  I  have  felt, 
in  the  contentions  of  my  own  unbelief,  ten  times  greater 
difiiculties."  We  who  have  contended  with  horses  are 
not  to  be  wearied  by  footmen.  Gordon  Cunnning  and 
other  lion-killers  are  not  to  be  scared  bj'  wild  cats,  nor 
will  those  who  have  stood  foot  to  foot  with  Satan  resign 
the  field  to  pretentious  sceptics,  or  any  other  of  the  evil 
one's  inferior  servants. 

If,  my  brethren,  we  have  fellowship  with  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  we  cannot  be  made  to  doubt  the  funda- 
mentals of  the  gospel;  neither  can  we  be  undecided.  A 
glimpse  at  the  thorn-crowned  head  and  pierced  hands 
and  feet  is  the  sure  cure  for  "modern  doubt"  and  all  its 
vagaries.  Get  into  the  "Kock  of  Ages,  cleft  for  you," 
and  you  will  abhor  the  quicksand.  That  eminent  Amer- 
ican preacher,  the  seraphic  Summerfield,  when  he  lay 
a-dying,  turned  round  to  a  friend  in  the  room  and  said, 
"  I  have  taken  a  look  into  eternity.  Oh,  if  I  could  come 
back  and  preach  again,  how  differently  would  I  preach 
from  what  I  have  done  before ! "  Take  a  look  into 
eternity,  brethren,  if  you  want  to  be  decided.  Re- 
member how  Atheist  met  Christian  and  Ho^Deful  on  the 
road  to  the  New  Jerusalem,  and  said,  "There  is  no 
celestial  country.  I  have  gone  a  long  way,  and  could 
not  find  it."  Then  Christian  said  to  Hopeful,  "Did  we 
not  see  it  from  the  top  of  INIount  Clear,  when  we  were 
with  the  shepherds  ?  "  There  was  an  answer !  So  when 
men  have  said,  "  There  is  no  Christ — there  is  no 
truth  in  religion,"  we  have  replied  to  them,  "  Have  we 
not  sat  under  his  shadow  with  great  delight  ?  Was  not 
his  fruit  sweet  to  our  taste  ?    Go  with  your  scepticisms 


THE    NEED    OF   DECISION    FOR    THE    TEUTH.  83 

to  those  who  do  not  know  whom  they  have  beheved. 
We  have  tasted  and  handled  the  good  word  of  hfe. 
What  we  have  seen  and  heard,  that  Ave  do  testify;  and 
whether  men  receive  our  testimony  or  not,  we  cannot  but 
speak  it,  for  we  speak  what  we  do  know,  and  testify  what 
we  have  seen."  That,  my  brethren,  is  the  sure  way  to  be 
decided. 

And  now,  lastl}',  ivhy  should  ice  at  this  particular  age  he 
decided  and  hold  ?  We  should  be  so  because  this  age  is  a 
doubting  age.  It  swarms  with  doubters  as  Egypt  of  old 
with  frogs.  You  rub  against  them  everywhere.  Everj-- 
body  is  doubting  everything,  not  merely  in  rehgion,  but 
in  politics  and  social  economics,  in  everything  indeed. 
It  is  the  era  of  progress,  and  I  supjsose  it  must  be  the 
age,  therefore,  unloosening,  in  order  that  the  whole  body 
politic  may  move  on  a  little  further.  Well,  brethren,  as 
the  age  is  doubting,  it  is  wise  for  us  to  put  our  feet 
down  and  stand  still  where  we  are  sure  we  have  truth 
beneath  us.  Perhaps,  if  it  were  an  age  of  bigotry,  and 
men  would  not  learn,  we  might  be  more  inclined  to 
listen  to  new  teachers;  but  now  the  Conservative  side 
must  be  ours,  or  rather  the  Radical  side,  which  is  the 
truly  Conservative  side.  We  must  go  back  to  the  radix, 
or  root  of  truth,  and  stand  sternly  by  that  which  God 
has  revealed,  and  so  meet  the  wavering  of  the  age.  Our 
eloquent  neighbor,  Mr.  Arthur  Mursell,  has  well  hit  off 
the  present  age: — 

"  Have  we  gone  too  far  in  saying  that  modern  thought 
has  grown  impatient  with  the  Bible,  the  gospel,  and  the 
cross  ?  Let  us  see.  What  part  of  the  Bible  has  it  not 
assailed  ?  The  Pentateuch  it  has  long  ago  swej^t  from 
the  canon  as  unauthentic.  What  we  read  about  the 
creation  and  the  flood  is  branded  as  fable.  And  the 
laws    about  the   landmarks,    from   which   Solomon  was 


84  LECTURES  TO  MY  STUDENTS. 

not   ashamed  to   quote,    are   buried   or  laid   upon  the 
shelf. 

"  Different  men  assail  different  portions  of  the  book, 
and  various  systems  level  their  batteries  of  prejudice  at 
various  points;  until  by  some  the  Scripture  is  torn  all 
to  pieces,  and  cast  to  the  four  winds  of  heaven,  and  by 
even  the  most  forbearing  of  the  cultured  Vandals  of 
what  is  called  modern  thought,  it  is  condensed  into  a 
thin  pamphlet  of  morality,  instead  of  the  tome  of  teach- 
ing through  which  we  have  eternal  life.  There  is  hardl}^ 
a  prophet  but  has  been  rcvieivcd  by  the  wiseacres  of  the 
day  in  precisely  the  same  spirit  as  they  would  review  a 
work  from  Mudie's  library.  The  Temanite  and  the  Shu- 
hite  never  misconstrued  the  baited  Job  with  half  the 
l^rejudice  of  the  acknowledged  intellects  of  our  time. 
Isaiah,  instead  of  being  sawn  asunder,  is  quartered  and 
hacked  in  pieces.  The  weeping  prophet  is  drowned  in 
his  own  tears.  Ezekiel  is  ground  to  atoms  amidst  his 
wheels.  Daniel  is  devoured  bodily  by  the  learned  lions. 
And  Jonah  is  swallowed  by  the  deep  monsters  with  a 
more  inexorable  voracity  than  the  fish,  for  they  never 
cast  him  uj)  again.  The  histories  and  events  of  the 
great  chronicle  are  rudely  contradicted  and  gainsaid, 
because  some  schoolmaster  with  a  slate  and  jDencil  can- 
not bring  liis  sums  right.  And  every  miracle  which  the 
might  of  the  Lord  wrought  for  the  favor  of  his  people 
or  the  fustration  of  their  foes,  is  pooh-poohed  as  m 
absurdity,  because  the  j^rofessors  cannot  do  the  like  with 
their  enchantments.  A  few  of  what  are  caUed  miracles 
may  be  credible,  because  our  leaders  think  they  can  do 
them  themselves.  A  few  natural  phenomena,  which 
some  doctor  can  show  to  a  company  of  martinets  in  a 
dark  room,  or  with  a  tabl.-'-full  of  aj^paratus,  will  account 
for  the  miracle  of  the  Ked  Sea.     An  aeronaut  goes  up  in 


THE    NEED    OE    DECISION   FOR   THE    TRUTH.  85 

a  balloou,  and  then  comes  clown  again,  and  quite  ex- 
plains away  the  pillar  of  fire  and  of  cloud,  and  trifles 
of  that  kind.  And  so  our  great  men  are  satisfied  when 
they  think  that  their  toy  wand  has  swallowed  up  the 
wand  of  Aaron;  but  Avhen  Aaron's  wand  threatens  to 
swallow  up  theirs,  they  say  that  joart  is  not  authentic, 
and  that  miracle  never  occurred. 

"  Nor  does  the  New  Testament  fare  any  better  than 
the  Old  at  the  hands  of  these  invaders.  There  is  no  toll 
of  deference  levied  on  their  homage  as  they  pass  across 
the  line.  They  recognize  no  voice  of  warning  with  the 
cry,  '  Take  thy  shoes  from  off  thy  feet,  because  the  place 
whereon  thou  standest  is  holj'  ground.'  The  mind 
which  halts  in  its  career  of  spiritual  rapine  on  any 
reverential  joretext,  is  denounced  as  ignorant  or  slavish. 
To  hesitate  to  stamp  the  hoof  upon  a  lily  or  a  spring 
flower  is  the  sentimental  foUy  of  a  child,  and  the  van- 
guard of  the  thought  of  the  age  has  only  pity  and  a 
sneer  for  such  a  feeling,  as  it  stalks  upon  its  boasted 
march  of  progress.  We  are  told  that  the  legends  of  our 
nurseries  are  obsolete,  and  that  broader  views  are  gain- 
ing ground  with  thoughtful  minds.  We  are  unwilling 
to  believe  it.  The  truth  is,  that  a  few,  a  very  few, 
thoughtful  men,  whose  thinking  consists  in  negation 
from  first  to  last,  and  whose  minds  are  tortured  with  a 
chronic  twist  or  curve,  which  turns  them  into  intel- 
lectual notes  of  interrogation,  have  laid  the  basis  of  this 
system;  these  few  honest  doubters  have  been  joined 
by  a  larger  band  who  are  simply  restless;  and  these 
again  by  men  who  are  inimical  to  the  spirit  and  the 
truths  of  Scripture,  and  together  they  have  formed  a 
coterie,  and  called  themselves  the  leaders  of  the  thought 
of  the  age.  They  have  a  following,  it  is  true ;  but  of 
whom  does  it  consist  ?     Of  the  mere  satellites  of  fashion. 


86  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

Of  the  wealth,  the  pedantry,  and  the  stupidity  of  our  large 
^populations.  A  string  of  carriages  is  seen  '  setting  down  ' 
and  '  taking  up'  at  the  door  where  an  advanced  professor 
is  to  lecture,  and  because  the  milliner  is  advertised  from 
floor  to  ceiling  in  the  lecture  room,  these  views  are  said 
to  be  gaining  ground.  But  in  an  age  of  fashion  like  this, 
who  ever  suspects  these  minions  of  the  mode  of  having 
any  views  at  all  ?  It  becomes  resj)ectable  to  follow  a 
certain  name  for  a  time,  and  so  the  vainlings  go  to 
follow  the  name  and  to  display  the  dress.  But  as  to 
views,  one  would  no  more  suspect  such  people  of  having 
any  views  than  they  would  dream  of  charging  more 
than  a  tenth  part  of  the  crowds  who  go  to  the  Royal 
Academy's  exhibition  with  understanding  the  laws  of 
p)erspective.  It  is  the  thing  to  do:  and  so  every  one 
who  has  a  dress  to  show  and  a  lounge  to  air,  goes  to 
show  it,  and  all  who  would  be  in  the  fashion  (and  who 
would  not  ?)  are  bound  to  advance  with  the  times.  And 
hence  we  find  the  times  advancing  over  the  sacred  j)re- 
cincts  of  the  New  Testament,  as  though  it  were  the  floor 
of  St.  Alban's  or  of  a  professor's  lecture  room;  and  ladies 
drag  their  trains,  and  dandies  set  their  dress-boots  on 
the  authenticity  of  this,  or  the  authority  of  that,  or  the 
inspiration  of  the  other.  People  who  never  heard  of 
Strauss,  of  Bauer,  or  of  Tiibingen,  are  quite  prepared  to 
say  that  our  Saviour  was  but  a  well-meaning  man,  who 
had  a  great  many  faults,  and  made  a  great  many  mis- 
takes; that  his  miracles,  as  recorded  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, were  in  part  imaginary,  and  in  part  accountable 
by  natural  theories;  that  the  raising  of  Lazarus  never 
occurred,  since  the  Gosj^el  of  John  is  a  forgery  from  first 
to  last;  that  the  atonement  is  a  doctrine  to  be  scouted 
as  bloody  and  unrighteous;  that  Paul  was  a  fanatic  who 
wrote  unthinkingly,  and  that  much  of  what  bears   his 


THE  NEED  OF  DECISION  FOR  THE  TRUTH.     87 

name  was  never  written  by  him  at  all.  Thus  is  the 
Bible  rubbed  through  the  tribulum  of  criticism  from 
Genesis  to  Revelation,  until,  in  the  faith  of  the  age  in 
which  we  live,  as  rei:)resented  by  its  so-called  leaders, 
there  are  but  a  few  inspired  fragments  here  and  there 
remaining." 

Moreover,  after  all,  this  is  not  an  earnestly  doubting 
age;  we  live  among  a  careless,  frivolous  race.  If  the 
doubters  were  honest,  there  would  be  more  infidel  places 
of  concourse  than  there  are;  but  infidelity  as  an  organ- 
ized community  does  not  prosper.  Infidelity  in  London, 
open  and  avowed,  has  come  down  to  one  old  corrugated 
iron  shed  oi:)i)osite  St.  Luke's.  I  believe  that  is  the  pre- 
sent position  of  it.  "  The  HaU  of  Science  "  is  it  not  caUed  ? 
Its  literature  was  carried  on  for  a  long  time  in  half  a 
shop  in  Fleet  Street,  that  was  all  it  could  manage  to 
supjDort,  and  I  don't  know  whether  even  that  half  shop 
is  used  now.  It  is  a  poor,  doting,  drivelling  thing.  In 
Tom  Paine's  time  it  bullied  like  a  vigorous  blasphemer 
but  it  was  outspoken,  and,  in  its  own  way,  downright 
and  earnest  in  its  outspokenness.  It  commanded  in 
former  days  some  names  which  one  might  mention  with 
a  measure  of  respect;  Hume,  to  wit,  and  Bolingbroke, 
and  A^oltaire  were  great  in  talent,  if  not  in  character. 
But  where  now  will  you  find  a  Hobbes  or  a  Gibbon  ? 
The  doubters  now  are  usually  doubters  because  they  do 
not  care  about  truth  at  all.  They  are  indifferent  alto- 
gether. Modern  scejDticism  is  playing  and  toying  with 
truth;  and  it  takes  to  "  modern  thought  "  as  an  amuse- 
ment, as  ladies  take  to  croquet  or  archery.  This  is 
nothing  less  than  an  age  of  millinery  and  dolls  and 
comedy.  Even  good  people  do  not  believe  out  and  out 
as  their  fathers  used  to  do.  Some  even  among  Noncon- 
formists are  shamefully   las  in  their   convictions;  they 


88  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

liave  few  masterly  convictions  sucli  as  would  lead  tliem 
to  the  stake,  or  even  to  imprisonment.  Molluscs  have 
taken  the  place  of  men,  and  men  are  turned  to  jelly- 
fishes.     Far  from  us  he  the  desire  to  imitate  them. 

Moreover,  it  is  an  age  which  is  very  impressible,  and 
therefore  I  should  like  to  see  you  very  decided,  that  you 
may  impress  it.  The  wonderful  progress  made  in  Eng- 
land by  the  High  Church  movement  shows  that  earnest- 
ness is  i^ower.  The  Ritualists  believe  something,  and 
that  fact  has  given  them  influence.  To  me  their  distinct- 
ive creed  is  intolerable  nonsense,  and  their  proceedings 
are  childish  foolery;  but  they  have  dared  to  go  against 
the  mob,  and  have  turned  the  mob  round  to  their  side. 
Bravely  did  they  battle,  let  us  say  it  to  their  honor; 
when  their  churches  became  the  scenes  of  riot  and  dis- 
order, and  there  was  raised  the  terrible  howl  of  "  No 
Popery "  by  the  lov^er  orders,  they  boldly  confronted 
the  foe  and  never  winced.  They  went  against  the  whole 
current  of  what  was  thought  to  be  the  deep-seated  feel- 
ing of  England  in  favor  of  Protestantism,  and  with 
scarcely  a  bishop  to  patronize  them,  and  but  few  loaves 
and  fishes  of  j^atronage,  they  have  increased  from  a 
handful  to  become  the  dominant  and  most  vital  party  in 
the  Church  of  England,  and  to  our  intense  surprise  and 
horror  they  have  brought  people  to  receive  again  the 
Popery  which  we  thought  dead  and  buried.  If  any- 
body had  told  me  twenty  years  ago  that  the  witch  of 
Endor  would  become  Queen  of  England,  I  should  as 
soon  have  believed  it  as  that  we  should  now  have  such  a 
High  Church  develoj)ment;  but  the  fact  is,  the  men 
were  earnest  and  decided,  and  held  what  they  believed 
most  firmly,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  push  their  cause. 
The  age,  therefore,  can  be  impressed;  it  will  receive 
what  is  taught  by  zealous  men,  whether  it  be  truth  or 


THE   NEED    OF   DECISION   FOE,   THE   TRUTH.  89 

falsehood.  It  may  be  objected  that  falsehood  will  be  re- 
ceived the  more  readily;  that  is  just  possible,  but  any- 
thing will  be  accepted  by  men  if  you  will  bvit  preach  it 
with  tremendous  energy  and  Hving  earnestness.  If  they 
will  not  receive  it  into  their  hearts  in  a  spiritual  sense, 
yet  at  any  rate  there  will  be  a  mental  assent  and  con- 
sent, very  much  in  j)i*oportion  to  the  energy  with  which 
you  proclaim  it;  ay,  and  God  will  bless  oru'  decision  too, 
so  that  when  the  mind  is  gained  by  our  earnestness,  and 
the  attention  is  won  by  our  zeal,  the  heart  itself  wiU  be 
opened  by  the  Spint  of  God. 

We  must  be  decided.  What  have  Dissenters  been  do- 
ing to  a  great  extent  lately  but  trying  to  be  fine  ?  How 
many  of  our  ministers  are  laboring  to  be  grand  orators 
or  intellectual  thinkers?  That  is  not  the  thing.  Our 
young  ministers  haA'e  been  dazzled  by  that,  and  have 
gone  off  to  bray  like  wild  asses  under  the  notion  that 
they  would  then  be  reiDuted  to  have  come  from  Je- 
rusalem, or  to  have  been  reared  in  Germany.  The  world 
has  found  them  out.  There  is  nothing  now  I  believe  that 
genuine  Christians  despise  more  than  the  foolish  affecta- 
tion of  intellectualism.  You  will  hear  a  good  old  deacon 
say,  "Mr.  So-and-so,  whom  we  had  here,  w^as  a  very  clever 
man,  and  preached  wonderful  sermons,  but  the  cause 
has  gone  down  through  it.  We  can  hardly  support  the 
minister,  and  we  mean  next  time  to  have  one  of  the  old- 
fashioned  ministers  back  again  who  believe  in  something 
and  preach  it.  There  will  be  no  addition  to  our  church 
else."  Will  jon  go  out  and  tell  the  people  that  you 
believe  you  can  say  something,  but  you  hardly  know 
what;  3'ou  are  not  quite  sure  that  what  you  preach  is 
correct,  but  the  trust-deed  requires  you  to  say  it,  and 
therefore  you  say  it?  ^Tiv,  you  may  cause  fools  and 
idiots  to  be  pleased  with  j-ou,  and  you  will  be  sure  to 


90  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

propagate  infidelity,  but  you  cannot  do  more.  When  a 
prophet  comes  forward  he  must  speak  as  from  the  Lord, 
and  if  he  cannot  do  that,  let  him  go  back  to  his  bed.  It 
is  quite  certain,  dear  friends,  that  now  or  never  we  must 
be  decided,  because  the  age  is  manifestly  drifting.  You 
cannot  watch  for  twelve  months  without  seeing  how  it  is 
going  down  the  tide;  the  anchors  are  pulled  up,  and  the 
vessel  is  floating  to  destruction.  It  is  drifting  now,  as 
near  as  I  can  tell  you,  south-east,  and  is  nearing  Caj)e 
Vatican,  and  if  it  drives  much  further  in  that  direction  it 
will  be  on  the  rocks  of  the  Eoman  reef.  We  must  get 
aboard  her,  and  connect  her  with  the  glorious  steam-tug 
of  gospel  truth,  and  drag  her  back.  I  should  be  glad  if 
I  could  take  her  round  by  Cape  Calvin,  right  up  into  Bay 
of  Calvary,  and  anchor  her  in  the  fair  haven  which  is 
close  over  by  Vera  Cruz,  or  the  cross.  God  grant  us 
grace  to  do  it.  We  must  have  a  strong  hand,  and  have 
our  steam  well  up,  and  defy  the  current;  and  so  by  God's 
grace  we  shall  both  save  this  age  and  the  generations  yet 
to  come. 


LECTURE  IV. 

OPEN    AIR    PEEACHING-A  SKETCH  OF  ITS   HISTORY. 

There  are  some  customs  foi*  which  nothing  can  be 
pleaded,  excej)t  that  they  are  very  old.  In  such  cases 
antiquity  is  of  no  more  value  than  the  rust  upon  a  coun- 
terfeit coin.  It  is,  however,  a  hap23y  circumstance  when 
the  usage  of  ages  can  be  pleaded  for  a  really  good  and 
scriptural  practice,  for  it  invests  it  with  a  halo  of  rever- 
ence. Now,  it  can  be  argued,  with  small  fear  of  refuta- 
tion, that  oi:)en  air  j^reaching  is  as  old  as  preaching  itself. 
We  are  at  full  liberty  to  believe  that  Enoch,  the  seventh 
from  Adam,  when  he  prophesied,  asked  for  no  better 
l^ulpit  than  the  hill-side,  and  that  Noah,  as  a  jDreacher 
of  righteousness,  was  willing  to  reason  with  his  cotemj^o- 
raries  in  the  ship-yard  wherein  his  marvellous  ark  was 
builded.  Certainl}^,  Moses  and  Joshua  found  their  most 
convenient  place  for  addressing  vast  assemblies  beneath 
the  unpillared  arch  of  heaven.  Samuel  closed  a  sermon 
in  the  field  at  Gilgal  amid  thunder  and  rain,  by  which 
the  Lord  rebuked  the  people  and  drove  them  to  their 
knees.  Elijah  stood  on  Carmel,  and  challenged  the 
vacillating  nation  with  "  How  long  halt  ye  between  two 
opinions  ?"  Jonah,  whose  spirit  was  somewhat  similar, 
lifted  up  his  cry  of  warning  in  the  streets  of  Nineveh, 
and  in  all  her  places  of  concourse  gave  forth  the  warning 
utterance,  "  Yet  forty  days  and  Nineveh  shall  be  over- 

91 


92  LECTUEES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

thrown !"  To  hear  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  "  all  the  people 
gathered  themselves  together  as  one  man  into  the  street 
that  was  before  the  water  gate."  Indeed,  we  find 
examples  of  open  air  preaching  everywhere  around  us  in 
the  records  of  the  Old  Testament. 

It  may  suffice  us,  however,  to  go  back  as  far  as  the 
origin  of  our  own  holy  faith,  and  there  we  hear  the  fore- 
runner of  the  Saviour  crying  in  the  wilderness  and  lilt- 
ing up  his  voice  from  the  river's  bank.  Our  Lord  him- 
self, who  is  yet  more  our  pattern,  delivered  the  larger 
proportion  of  his  sermons  on  the  mountain's  side,  or  by 
the  sea  shore  or  in  the  streets.  Our  Lord  was  to  all 
intents  and  purposes  an  open  air  preacher.  He  did  not 
remain  silent  in  the  synagogue,  but  he  was  equally  at 
home  in  the  field.  We  have  no  discourse  of  his  on 
record  delivered  in  the  chaj)el  royal,  but  we  have  the 
sermon  on  the  mount,  and  the  sermon  in  the  plain;  so 
that  the  very  earliest  and  most  divine  kind  of  j^reaching 
was  practised  out  of  doors  b;>'  him  who  spake  as  never 
man  spake. 

There  were  gatherings  of  his  disciples  after  his  de- 
cease, within  walls,  esj)ecially  that  in  the  upper  room;  but 
the  preaching  was  even  then  most  frequently  in  the 
court  of  the  temple,  or  in  such  other  open  spaces  as 
were  available.  The  notion  of  holy  places  and  con- 
secrated meeting-houses  had  not  occurred  to  them  as 
Christians;  they  preached  in  the  temple  because  it  Avas 
the  chief  place  of  concourse,  but  with  equal  earnestness 
"in  every  house  they  ceased  not  to  teach  and  preach 
Jesus  Christ." 

The  apostles  and  their  immediate  successors  delivered 
their  message  of  mercy  not  only  in  their  own  hired 
houses,  and  in  the  synagogues,  but  also  anywhere  and 
everywhere    as    occasion    served    them.     This   may   be 


OPEX   AIE   PKEACHIXG ITS   HISTOEY  93 

gathered  incidentally  from  the  following  statement  of 
Eusebius:  "The  divine  and  admirable  disciples  of  the 
apostles  built  up  the  superstructure  of  the  churches,  the 
foundations  whereof  the  apostles  had  laid,  in  all  places 
where  they  came;  they  everywhere  prosecuted  the 
jDreachiag  of  the  gospel,  sowing  the  seeds  of  heavenly 
doctrine  throughout  the  whole  world.  Many  of  the 
disciples  then  alive  distributed  their  estates  to  the  poor; 
and  leaving  their  own  country,  did  the  work  of  evan- 
gelists to  those  who  had  never  yet  heard  the  Christian 
faith,  preaching  Christ,  and  dehvering  the  evangelical 
wiitiugs  to  them.  No  sooner  had  they  planted  the  faith 
in  any  foreign  countries,  and  ordained  guides  and  pastoi's, 
to  whom  they  committed  the  care  of  these  new  plantations, 
but  they  went  to  other  nations,  assisted  by  the  grace  and 
powerful  working  of  the  Holy  Sj)ii'it.  As  soon  as  they 
began  to  preach  the  gospel  the  people  flocked  universally 
to  them,  and  cheerfully  worshipped  the  true  God,  the 
Creator  of  the  world,  piously  and  heartUy  beUeving  in  his 
name." 

As  the  dark  ages  lowered,  the  best  j)reachers  of  the 
gradually  declining  chiu'ch  were  also  preachers  in  the 
open  au';  as  were  also  those  itinerant  friars  and  great 
founders  of  rehgious  orders  who  kept  ahve  such  piety 
as  remained.  We  hear  of  Berthold,  of  Ratisbon,  with 
audiences  of  sixty  or  a  hundred  thousand,  in  a  field  near 
Glatx  in  Bohemia.  There  were  also  Bernards,  and  Ber- 
nardines,  and  Anthonys,  and  Thomases  of  great  fame  as 
travelling  preachers,  of  whom  we  cannot  find  time  to  speak 
particularly.  Dr.  Lavington,  Bishop  of  Exeter,  being 
short  of  other  arguments,  stated,  as  a  proof  that  the 
Methodists  were  identical  with  the  Papists,  that  the  early 
Friar  Preachers  were  great  at  holding  forth  in  the  open 
fields.     Quoting  from  Eibadeneii'a,  he  mentions  Peter  of 


94  LECTUEES   TO   MY    STUDENTS. 

Verona,  who  liaci  "a  divine  talent  in  preaching;  neitlnr 
churches,  nor  streets,  nor  market-places  could  contain 
the  great  concourse  that  resorted  to  hear  his  sermons." 
The  learned  bishop  might  have  easily  multiplied  his  ex- 
amj^les,  as  we  also  could  do,  but  they  would  prove  noth- 
ing more  than  that,  for  good  or  evil,  field  preaching  is  a 
great  power. 

When  Antichrist  had  commenced  its  more  universal 
sway,  the  Reformers  before  the  Reformation  were  full 
often  open  air  j)i'eachers,  as,  for  instance,  Arnold  of 
Brescia,  who  denounced  Papal  usurpations  at  the  very 
gates  of  the  Vatican. 

It  would  be  very  easy  to  prove  that  revivals  of  religion 
have  usually  been  accompanied,  if  not  caused,  by  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  preaching  out  of  doors,  or  in  un- 
usual places.  The  first  avowed  preaching  of  Protestant 
doctrine  was  almost  necessarily  in  the  open  air,  or  in 
buildings  which  were  not  dedicated  to  worship,  for  these 
were  in  the  hands  of  the  Papacy.  True,  "Wyclifi'e  for  a 
while  preached  the  gospel  in  the  church  at  Lutterworth; 
Huss,  and  Jerome,  and  Savonarola  for  a  time  delivered 
semi-gospel  addresses  in  connection  with  the  ecclesiastical 
arrangements  around  them ;  but  when  they  began  more 
fully  to  know  and  proclaim  the  gospel,  they  were  driven 
to  find  other  platforms.  The  Reformation  when  yet  a 
babe  Avas  like  the  new-born  Christ,  and  had  not  where  to 
lay  its  head,  but  a  company  of  men.  comparable  to  the 
heavenly  host  proclaimed  it  under  the  open  heavens, 
where  shepherds  and  common  jDeople  heard  them  gladly. 
Thoughout  England  we  have  several  trees  remaining 
called  "gosjiel  oaks."'  There  is  one  spot  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Thames  known  by  the  name  of  "  Gospel  Oak," 
and  I  have  myself  preached  at  Addlestone,  in  Surrey, 
under    the    far-spreading    boughs    of  an   ancient  oak. 


OPEN   AIE   PREACHING — ITS   HISTOPwT.  95 

beneath  which  John  Knox  is  said  to  have  prodaimed  the 
gospel  during  his  sojoui-n  in  England.  FuU  many  a  -wild 
moor,  and  lone  hill-side,  and  secret  spot  in  the  forest  have 
been  consecrated  in  the  same  fashion,  and  traditions  still 
hnger  over  caves,  and  deUs,  and  hill-tops,  where  of  old 
time  the  bands  of  the  faithful  met  to  hear  the  word  of 
the  Lord.  Nor  was  it  alone  in  solitar}'  places  that  in 
days  of  yore  the  voice  of  the  preacher  was  heard,  for 
scarcely  is  there  a  market  cross  which  has  not  served  as 
a  pulpit  for  itinerant  gospellers.  During  the  lifetime  of 
"Wycliffe  his  missionaries  traversed  the  country,  every- 
where preaching  the  word.  An  Act  of  Parliament  of 
Richard  II.  (1382)  sets  it  forth  as  a  grievance  of  the 
clergy  that  a  number  of  persons  in  frieze  gowns  went 
from  town  to  town,  without  the  license  of  the  ordinaries, 
and  preached  not  only  in  chiu'ches,  but  in  chiu'chyards,' 
and  market-places,  and  also  at  fairs.  To  hear  these 
heralds  of  the  cross  the  countr}^  people  flocked  in  great 
numbers,  and  the  soldiers  mingled  with  the  crowd,  read}' 
to  defend  the  preachers  with  their  swords  if  any  offered 
to  molest  them.  After  Wycliffe's  decease  his  followers 
scrupled  not  to  use  the  same  methods.  It  is  specially 
recorded  of  "WiUiam  Swinderby  that,  "being  excom- 
municated, and  forbidden  to  preach  in  any  church  or 
churchyard,  he  made  a  pulpit  of  two  mill-stones  in  the 
High-street  of  Leicester,  and  there  preached  '  in  contemjit 
of  the  bishop.'  'There,'  says  Knighton,  'you  might  see 
throngs  of  people  from  every  part,  as  well  fi'om  the  town 
as  the  country,  double  the  number  there  used  to  be 
when  they  might  hear  him  lawfully.'  " 

In  Germany  and  other  continental  countries  the  Ref- 
ormation was  greatly  aided  by  the  sermons  dehvered  to 
the  masses  out  of  doors.  We  read  of  Lutheran 
])reachers   perambulating   the   country   proclaiming  the 


96  LECTUKES   TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

new  doctriue  to  crowds  in  the  market-places,  and  burial- 
grounds,  and  also  on  mountains   and  in  meadows.     At 
Goslar  a  AVittemberg   student   preached  in  a  meadow 
planted  with  lime-trees,  which  procured  for  his  hearers 
the    designation  of  "  the   Lime-tree   Brethren."     D'Au- 
bigne  tells  us  that  at  Appenzel,  as  the  crowds  could  not 
be  contained  in  the  churches,  the  preaching  was  held  in 
the  fields  and  public  squares,  and,  notwithstanding  keen 
opposition,  the   hills,  meadows,  and   mountains    echoed 
with  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation.     In  the  life  of  Farel 
we  meet  with  incidents  connected  with  out-of-doors  min- 
istry;  for  instance,  when  at  Metz  he  preached  his  first 
sermon    in    the    churchyard    of    the    Dominicans,    his 
enemies  caused  all  the  bells  to  be  tolled,  but  his  voice  of 
thunder  overpowered  the  sound.     In  Neuchatel  we  are 
told   that   "  the   whole   town   became   his   church.      He 
preached  in  the  market-place,  in  the  streets,  at  the  gates, 
before  the  houses,  and  in  the   squares,  and   with   such 
persuasion  and  effect  that  he  won  over  many  to  the  gos- 
pel.    Tbe   peoi^le    crowded   to   hear   his   sermons,    and 
could  not  be  kept  back  either  b}^  threats  or  persuasions." 
From  Dr.  Wylie's  "  History  of  Protestantism  "  I  bor- 
row  the    following: — "It   is   said    that   the   first    field- 
preaching  in  the  Netherlands  took  place  on  the  14th  of 
June,  156G,  and  was  held  in  the  neighborhood,  of  Ghent. 
The  preacher  was  Herman  Modet,  who   had   formerly 
been  a  monk,  but  was  now  the  reformed  pastor  at  Oude- 
nard.     '  This  man,'  says  a  Popish  chronicler,  '  was  the 
first  who  ventured  to  preach  in  public,  and  there  were 
7,000   persons   at   his    first   sermon.'  ....  The   second 
great  field-preaching  took  place  on  the  23rd  of  July  fol- 
lowing, the  people  assembling  in  a  large  meadow  in  the 
vicinity  of  Ghent.     The  '  Word '  was  i^recious  in  those 
days,  and  the  people,  eagerly  thirsting  to  hear  it,  pre- 


OPEX   AIR    PKEACHIXG ITS   HISTOPv^.  97 

l^arecl  to  remain  two  days  consecutively  on  the  ground. 
Their  arrangements  more  resembled  an  army  pitching 
their  camp  than  a  peaceful  multitude  assembled  for  wor- 
ship. Around  the  worshippers  was  a  wall  of  barricades 
in  the  shape  of  carts  and  wagons.  Sentinels  were 
placed  at  aU  the  entrances.  A  rude  pulpit  of  planks 
was  hastily  run  up  and  placed  aloft  on  a  cart.  Modet 
was  i^reacher,  and  around  him  were  many  thousands  of 
persons,  who  listened  with  their  pikes,  hatchets,  and  guns 
lying  by  their  sides,  ready  to  be  grasped  on  a  sign  from 
the  sentinels  who  kept  watch  all  around  the  assembly. 
In  front  of  the  entrances  were  erected  stalls,  whereat 
pedlars  offered  prohibited  books  to  all  who  wished  to 
buy.  Along  the  roads  running  into  the  country  were 
stationed  certain  persons,  whose  office  it  was  to  bid  the 

casual  passenger  turn  in  and  hear  the  gospel 

When  the  services  were  finished,  the  multitude  would 
repair  to  other  districts,  where  they  encamped  after  the 
same  fashion,  and  remained  for  the  same  space  of  time, 
and  so  passed  through  the  whole  of  West  Flanders.  At 
these  conventicles  the  Psalms  of  David,  which  had  been 
translated  into  Low  Dutch  from  the  version  of  Clement 
Marot,  and  Theodore  Beza,  were  always  sung.  The 
odes  of  the  Hebrew  king,  pealed  forth  by  from  five  to 
ten  thousand  voices,  and  borne  by  the  breeze  over  the 
woods  and  meadows,  might  be  heard  at  great  distances, 
arresting  the  ploughman  as  he  turned  the  furrow,  or  the 
traveller  as  he  piu'sued  his  way,  and  making  him  stop 
and  wonder  whence  the  ministrelsy  j)i'oceeded."  It  is 
most  interesting  to  observe  that  congregational  singing 
is  sure  to  revive  at  the  same  moment  as  gospel-in-each- 
ing.  In  aU  ages  a  Moody  has  been  attended  by  a  San- 
key.  History  repeats  itself  because  like  causes  ai'e 
pretty  sm-e  to  produce  like  effects. 


98  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

It  would  be  an  interesting  task  to  prejDare  a  volume 
of  notable  facts  connected  with  open  air  preaching,  or, 
better  still,  a  consecutive  history  of  it.  I  have  no  time 
for  even  a  complete  outhne,  but  would  simply  ask  you, 
where  would  the  Reformation  have  been  if  its  great 
jDreachers  had  confined  themselves  to  churches  and  ca- 
thedrals ?  How  would  the  common  people  have  become 
indoctrinated  with  the  gospel  had  it  not  been  for  those 
far-wandering  evangelists,  the  colporteurs,  and  those 
daring  innovators  who  found  a  pulpit  on  every  heap  of 
stones,  and  an  audience  chamber  in  every  open  space 
near  the  abodes  of  men  ? 

Among  examples  within  our  own  highly  favored  island 
I  cannot  forbear  mentioning  the  notable  case  of  holy 
Wishart.  This  I  quote  from  Gillie's  "  Historical  Col- 
lections " : — 

"  George  Wishart  was  one  of  the  early  preachers  of 
the  doctrines  of  the  Reformers,  and  suffered  martyrdom 
in  the  days  of  Knox.  His  public  exposition  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Romans  especially  excited  the  fears  and 
hatred  of  the  Romish  ecclesiastics,  who  caused  him  to  be 
isileneed  at  Dundee.  He  went  to  Ayr,  and  began  to 
j^reach  the  gospel  with  great  freedom  and  faithfulness. 
But  Dunbar,  the  then  Archbishop  of  Glasgow,  being  in- 
formed of  the  great  concourse  of  people  who  crowded 
to  his  sermons,  at  the  instigation  of  Cardinal  Beafton, 
went  to  Ayr,  with  the  resolution  to  apprehend  him ;  but 
first  took  possession  of  the  church,  to  prevent  him  from 
preaching  in  it.  The  news  of  this  brought  Alexander, 
Earl  of  Glencairn,  and  some  gentlemen  of  the  neighbor- 
hood immediately  to  town.  They  wished  and  offered 
to  put  Wishart  into  the  cluircli,  but  he  would  not  con- 
sent, saying,  '  that  the  Bishop's  sermon  would  not  do 
much  hurt,  and  that,  if  they  pleased,  he  would   go  to 


OPEX   AIR    PREACHING — ITS    HISTOET.  99 

the  market  cross,'  wliicli  he  accordingly  did,  and 
preached  with  such  success,  that  several  of  his  hearers, 
formerly  enemies  to  the  truth,  were  converted  on  the 
occasion. 

"  Wishart  continued  with  the  gentlemen  of  Kyle,  after 
the  archbishop's  dej^artui'e;  and  being  desired  to  preach 
next  Lord's-day  at  the  church  of  Mauchline,  he  went 
thither  with  that  design,  but  the '  sheriff  of  Ayr  had,  in 
the  night  time,  put  a  garrison  of  soldiers  into  the  church 
to  keep  him  out.  Hugh  Campbell,  of  Kinzeancleugh, 
with  others  in  the  parish,  were  exceedingly  offended  at 
this  impiety,  and  would  have  entered  tha  church  by 
force ;  but  Wishart  would  not  suffer  it,  saying,  '  Breth- 
ren, it  is  the  word  of  peace  which  I  preach  unto  you; 
the  blood  of  no  man  shall  be  shed  for  it  this  day:  Jesus 
Christ  is  as  mighty  in  the  fields  as  in  the  church,  and  he 
himself,  while  he  lived  in  the  flesh,  preached  oftener  in 
the  desert  and  upon  the  sea  side  than  in  the  tem^jle  of 
Jerusalem.'  Upon  this  the  people  were  appeased,  and 
went  with  him  to  the  edge  of  the  moor,  on  the  south- 
west of  Mauchline,  where,  having  j^laced  himself  upon  a 
ditch-dike,  he  preached  to  a  great  multitude.  He  con- 
tinued speaking  for  more  than  three  hours,  God  working 
wondrously  by  him;  insomuch  that  Laurence  Ranken, 
the  Lau-d  of  Shield,  a  very  profane  person,  was  con- 
verted by  his  means.  About  a  month  after  the  above 
circumstance,  he  was  informed  that  the  plague  had 
broken  ont  at  Dundee,  the  fourth  day  after  he  had  left  it; 
and  that  it  stUl  continued  to  rage  in  such  a  manner  that 
great  numbers  were  swept  off  daUy.  This  affected  him 
so  ujuch,  that  he  resolved  to  return  to  iiiem,  and  accord- 
ingly took  leave  of  his  friends  in  the  west,  who  were 
filled  with  sorrow  at  his  departure.  The  next  day,  after 
his  aiTival  at  Dundee,  he  caused  intimation  to  be  made 


100  LECTUEES    TO   MY    STUDENTS. 

that  he  would  preach;  and  for  that  purpose  chose  his 
station  at  the  head  of  the  east  gate,  the  infected  persons 
standing  without,  and  those  that  were  whole,  within. 
His  text  on  this  occasion  was  Psalm  cvii.  20 :  '  He  sent 
his  word  and  healed  them,  and  delivered  them  from 
their  destructions.'  By  this  discourse  he  so  comforted 
the  people,  that  they  thought  themselves  hapj^y  in  hav- 
ing such  a  jDreacher,  and  entreated  him  to  remain  with 
them  while  the  plague  continued." 

What  a  scene  must  this  have  been?  Seldom  has 
preacher  had  such  an  audience,  and,  I  may  add,  seldom 
has  audience  had  such  a  f>reacher.  Then,  to  use  the 
words  of  an  old  author,  "  Old  time  stood  at  the 
preacher's  side  with  his  scythe,  saying  with  hoarse 
voice,  '  Work  while  it  is  called  to-day,  for  at  night  I  will 
mow  thee  down.'  There,  too,  stood  grim  death  hard  by 
the  pulpit,  with  his  sharp  arrows,  saying,  '  Do  thou 
shoot  God's  arrows  and  I  will  shoot  mine.' "  This  is,  in- 
deed, a  notable  instance  of  preaching  out  of  doors. 

I  wish  it  were  in  my  power  to  give  more  particulars  of 
that  famous  discourse  by  John  Livingstone  in  the  yard 
of  the  Kirk  of  Shotts,  when  not  less  than  live  hundred 
of  his  hearers  found  Christ,  though  it  rained  in  torrents 
during  a  considerable  part  of  the  time.  It  remains  as 
one  of  the  great  out-door  sermons  of  history,  unsur- 
passed by  any  within  walls.  Here  is  the  gist  of  what  we 
know  about  it : — 

"  It  was  not  usual,  it  seems,  in  those  times,  to  have  any 
sermon  on  the  Monday  after  dispensing  the  Lord's  Su])- 
per.  But  God  had  given  so  much  of  his  gracious  pre- 
sence, and  afforded  his  people  so  much  communion  with 
himself,  on  the  foregoing  days  of  that  solemnity,  that 
they  knew  not  how  to  part  without  thanksgiving  and 
praise.     There  had  been  a  vast  confluence   of  choice 


OPEN    AIE    PEEACHIXG — ITS    HISTORY.  101 

Christians,  with  several  eminent  ministers,  from  almost 
all  the  corners  of  the  land.  There  had  been  many  of 
them  there  together  for  several  days  before  the  sacra- 
ment, hearing  sermons,  and  joining  together  in  larger  or 
lesser  companies,  in  pra^^er,  jDraise,  and  spiritual  confer- 
ences. While  their  hearts  were  warm  with  the  love  of 
God,  some  expressing  theii*  desire  of  a  sermon  on  the 
Monday,  were  joined  by  others,  and  in  a  little  the  desire 
became  very  general.  Mr.  John  Livingstone,  chaplain  to 
the  Countess  of  Wigtoun  (at  that  time  only  a  j)reacher, 
not  an  ordained  minister,  and  about  twenty-seven  j^ears 
of  age),  was  with  very  much  ado  prevailed  on  to  think  of 
giving  the  sermon.  He  had  spent  the  night  before  in 
prayer  and  conference;  but  when  he  was  alone  in  the 
fields,  about  eight  or  nine  in  the  morning,  there  came  such 
a  misgiving  of  heart  upon  him  under  a  sense  of  unworthi- 
ness  and  unfitness  to  speak  before  so  many  aged  and 
worthy  ministers,  and  so  many  eminent  and  experienced 
Christians;  that  he  was  thinking  to  have  stolen  quite 
away,  and  was  actually  gone  away  to  some  distance;  but 
when  just  about  to  lose  sight  of  the  Kirk  of  Shotts  these 
words,  '  Have  I  been  a  wilderness  unto  Israel  ?  a  land  of 
darkness  ? '  were  brought  into  his  heart  with  such  an 
overcoming  power,  as  constrained  him  to  think  it  his 
duty  to  return  and  comply  with  the  call  to  preach; 
which  he  accordingly  did  with  good  assistance  for  about 
an  hour  and  a  half  on  the  points  he  had  meditated  from 
that  text,  Ezek.  xxxvi.  2.5,  2G:  'Then  will  I  sprinkle  clean 
water  upon  you,  and  ye  shall  be  clean:  from  all  your 
filthiness,  and  from  all  your  idols  will  I  cleanse  you.  A 
new  heart  also  will  I  give  you,  and  a  new  spirit  will  I 
put  within  you:  and  I  will  take  away  the  stony  heart 
out  of  your  flesh,  and  I  will  give  you  an  heart  of  flesh.' 
As  he  was  about  to  close,  a  heavy  shower  coming  sud- 


102  LECTUKES    TO    MY    STUDKM'S. 

denly  on,  which  made  the  people  hastily  take  to  their 
cloaks  and  mantles,  he  be^'an  to  speak  to  the  I'ollowing- 
purpose:  '  If  a  few  drops  of  rain  from  the  clouds  so  dis- 
comi^osed  them,  how  discomposed  would  they  be,  how 
full  of  horror  and  despair,  if  God  should  deal  with  them 
as  they  deserved:  and  thus  he  will  deal  with  all  the 
finally  impenitent.  That  G-od  might  justly  rain  fire  and 
brimstone  upon  them,  as  upon  Sodom  a,nd  Gomorrah, 
and  the  other  cities  of  the  plain.  That  the  Son  of  God 
by  tabernacling  in  our  nature,  and  obeying  and  sufier- 
ing  in  it,  is  the  only  refuge  and  covert  from  the  storm  of 
divine  wrath  due  to  us  for  sin.  That  his  merits  and 
mediation  are  the  alone  screen  from  that  stoi"m,  and 
that  none  but  penitent  believers  shall  have  the  benefit  of 
that  shelter.'  In  these  or  some  expressions  to  this  jDur- 
j)ose,  and  many  others,  he  was  led  for  about  an  hour's 
time  (after  he  had  done  with  what  he  had  premeditated) 
in  a  sti^in  of  exhortation  and  warning,  with  great  en- 
largement and  melting  of  heart." 

We  must  not  forget  the  regular  out-of-doors  ministry 
at  Paul's  Cross,  under  the  eaves  of  the  old  cathedral. 
This  was  a  famous  institution,  and  enabled  the  notable 
preachers  of  the  times  to  be  heard  by  the  citizens  in 
great  numbers.  Kings  and  princes  did  not  disdain  to 
sit  in  the  gallery  built  upon  the  cathedral  wall,  and  lis- 
ten to  the  i:)reacher  for  the  day.  Latimer  tells  us  that 
the  graveyard  was  in  such  an  unhealthy  condition  that 
many  died  through  attending  the  sermoms;  and  yet 
there  was  never  a  lack  of  hearers.  Now  that  the  abomi- 
nation of  intra-mural  burial  is  done  away  with,  the  like 
evil  would  not  arise,  and  Paul's  Cross  might  be  set  up 
again ;  perhaps  a  change  to  the  oj)en  space  might  bloAV 
away  some  of  the  Popery  which  is  gradually  attaching 
itself  to  the  services  of  the  cathedral.     The  restoration 


OPEN   AIR    PREACHIXG ITS    HISTORY.  103 

of  the  system  of  public  preacliing  of  which  Paul's  Cross 
was  the  central  station  is  greatly  to  be  desired.  I  earn- 
estly wish  that  some  person  j)ossessed  of  sufficient 
wealth  would  jDurchase  a  central  space  in  our  great  me- 
tropolis, erect  a  pulpit,  and  a  certain  number  of  benches, 
and  then  set  it  apart  for  the  use  of  approved  ministers 
of  the  gospel,  who  should  there  freely  declare  the  gospel 
to  all  comers,  without  favor  or  distinction.  It  would  be 
of  more  real  service  to  our  ever-growing  city  than  all  its 
cathedrals,  abbeys,  and  grand  Gothic  edifices.  Before 
all  open  spaces  are  utterly  swept  away  by  the  ever-swell- 
ing tide  of  mortar  and  brick,  it  would  be  a  wise  policy  to 
secure  Gospel  Fields,  or  God's-acres-for-the-living,  or 
whatever  else  you  may  please  to  call  open  spaces  for  free 
gosjDel  preaching. 

All  through  the  Puritan  times  there  were  gatherings 
in  all  sorts  of  out-of-the-way  places,  for  fear  of  persecu- 
tors. "  We  took,"  says  Archbishop  Laud,  in  a  letter 
dated  Fulham,  June,  1032,  "  another  conventicle  of  sep- 
aratists in  Newington  Woods,  in  the  very  brake  where 
the  king's  stag  was  to  be  lodged,  for  his  hunting  nest 
morning."  A  hoUow  or  gravel-pit  on  Houuslow  Heath 
sometimes  served  as  a  conventicle,  and  there  is  a  dell 
near  Hitchin  where  John  Bunyan  was  wont  to  jDreach  in 
perilous  times.  All  over  Scotland  the  straths,  and  dells, 
and  vales,  and  hill-sides  are  full  of  covenanting  memories 
to  this  day.  You  will  not  fail  to  meet  with  rock  pul23its 
whence  the  stern  fathers  of  the  Presbyterian  church 
thundered  foiih  their  denunciations  of  Erastianism,  and 
pleaded  the  claims  of  the  King  of  kings.  Cargill  and 
Cameron  and  their  fellows  found  congenial  scenes  for 
their  brave  ministries  mid  the  lone  mountains'  rents  and 
ravines. 


104  LECTURES    TO   MT   STUDENTS. 

"  Long  ere  the  dawn,  hy  devious  ways, 
'    O'er  hills,  through  woods,  o'er  dreary  wastes,  they  sought 
The  upland  moors,  where  rivers,  there  hut  hrooks, 
Dispart  to  different  seas:  fast  hy  sueh  hrooks, 
A  little  glen  is  sometimes  scoop'd,  a  jilat 
With  greensward  gay,  and  flowers  that  strangers  seem 
Amid  the  heathery  wild,  that  all  around 
Fatigues  the  eye  :  in  solitudes  like  these 
Thy  persecuted  children,  Scotia,  foil'd 
A  tyrant's  and  a  higot's  hloody  law. 
There,  leaning  on  his  spear  .... 
The  lyart  veteran  heard  the  word  of  God 
By  Cameron  thunder'd,  or  by  Renwick  pour'd 
In  gentle  stream  :  then  rose  the  song,  the  loud. 
Acclaim  of  praise  ;  the  wheeling  plover  ceased 
Her  plaint ;  the  solitary  i)lace  was  glad. 
And  on  the  distant  cairns,  the  watcher's  ear 
Caught  doubtfully  at  times  the  breeze-borne  note. 
But  years  more  gloomy  follow'd  ;  and  no  more 
The  assembled  people  dared,  in  face  of  day, 
To  worship  God,  or  even  at  the  dead 
Of  night,  save  when  the  wintry  storm  raved  fierce, 
And  thunder-])eals  compell'd  the  men  of  blood 
To  couch  within  their  dens;  then  dauntlessly 
The  scattered,  few  would  meet,  in  some  deep  dell 
By  rocks  o'er-canopied,  to  hear  the  voice, 
Their  faithful  pastor's  voice  :  he  by  the  gleam 
Of  sheeted  lightning  oped  the  sacred  book. 
And  words  of  comfort  spake:  over  tlieir  souls 
His  accents  soothing  came,  as  to  her  young 
The  heathfowl's  plumes,  when  at  the  close  of  eve 
She  gathers  iu,  mournful,  her  1)rood  dispersed 
By  murderous  sport,  and  o'er  the  remnant  spreads 
Fondly  her  wings  ;  close  nestling  'neatli  her  breast 
They  cherish'd  cower  amid  tiie  purple  blooms." 

At  tlie  risk  of  being  prolix  I  feel  I  must  add  tlie  fol- 
lowing toncbing  description  of  one  of  these  scenes.  The 
prose  picture  even  excels  the  poet's  painting. 


OPEN   AlP    PREACniXG— ITS    HISTORY.  105 

"We  entered  on  the  adnuni8tri4,tion  of  the  holy  ordi- 
nance, committing  it  and  ourselves  to  the  invisil)le  pro- 
tection of  the  Lord  of  hosts,  in  whose  name  we  were  met 
together.  Our  trust  was  in  the  arm  of  Jehovah,  which 
was  better  than  weapons  of  war,  or  the  strength  of  the 
hills.  The  place  where  we  convened  was  every  way 
commodious,  and  seemed  to  have  been  formed  on  pur- 
pose. It  was  a  green  and  pleasant  hangh,  fast  by  the 
waterside  (the  Whittader).  On  either  hand  there  was  a 
spacious  brae,  in  the  form  of  a  half  round,  covered  with 
delightful  pasture,  and  rising  with  a  gentle  slope  to  a 
goodly  height.  Above  us  was  the  clear  blue  sky,  for  it 
was  a  sweet  and  calm  Sabbath  morning,  promising  in- 
deed to  be  '  one  of  the  days  of  the  Son  of  man.'  There 
was  a  solemnity  in  the  place  befitting  the  occasion,  and 
elevating  the  whole  soul  to  a  pure  and  holy  frame.  The 
communion  tables  were  spread  on  the  green  by  the  wa- 
ter, and  around  them  the  people  had  arranged  themselves 
in  decent  order.  But  the  far  greater  multitude  sat  on 
the  brae  face,  which  was  crowded  from  top  to  bottom — 
full  as  pleasant  a  sight  as  ever  was  seen  of  that  sort. 
Each  day  at  the  congregation's  dismissing  the  ministers 
with  their  guards,  and  as  many  of  the  people  as  could, 
retired  to  their  quarters  in  three  several  countr}"  towns, 
where  they  might  be  provided  with  necessaries.  The 
horsemen  drew  up  in  a  body  till  the  people  left  the 
place,  and  then  marched  in  goodly  array  behind  at  a  lit- 
tle distance,  until  all  were  safely  lodged  in  their  quar- 
ters. In  the  morning,  when  the  people  returned  to  the 
meeting,  the  horsemen  accompanied  them:  all  the  three 
parties  met  a  mile  from  the  spot,  and  marched  in  a  full 
body  to  the  consecrated  ground.  The  congregation  be- 
ing all  fairly  settled  in  their  places,  the  guardsmen  took 
their  several  stations,  as  formerly.     These  accidental  vol- 


106  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

uiiteers  seemed  to  have  been  the  gift  of  Providence,  and 
they  secured  the  peace  and  quiet  of  the  audience;  for. 
from  Saturday  morning,  when  the  work  began,  until 
Monday  afternoon,  we  suffered  not  the  least  ali'ront  or 
molestation  from  enemies,  which  appeared  wonderful 
At  first  there  was  some  apprehension,  but  the  people  sat 
undisturbed,  and  the  whole  was  closed  in  as  orderly  a 
way  as  it  had  been  in  the  time  of  Scotland's  brightest 
noon.  And  truly  the  spectacle  of  so  ixxsaiy  grave,  com- 
posed, and  devout  faces  must  have  struck  the  adver- 
saries with  awe,  and  been  more  formidable  than  any 
outward  ability  of  fierce  looks  and  warlike  array.  We 
desired  not  the  countenance  of  earthly  kings :  there  was 
a  spiritual  and  divine  IMajesty  shining  on  the  work,  and 
sensible  evidence  that  the  great  iNlaster  of  assemblies 
was  present  in  the  midst.  It  was  indeed  the  doing  of 
the  Lord,  who  covered  us  a  table  in  the  wilderness,  in 
presence  of  our  foes;  and  reared  a  pillar  of  glory  be- 
tween us  and  the  enemy,  like  the-  fiery  cloud  of  old  that 
separated  between  the  camjD  of  Israel  and  the  Egyp- 
tians— encouraging  to  the  one,  but  dark  and  terrible  to 
the  other.  Tliough  our  vows  were  not  oliered  within 
the  courts  of  God's  house,  they  wanted  not  sincerity  of 
heart,  which  is  better  than  the  reverence  of  sanctuaries. 
Amidst  the  lonely  mountains  w^e  remembered  the  words 
of  our  Lord,  that  true  worshij)  was  not  peculiar  to  Jeru- 
salem or  Samaria — that  the  beauty  of  holiness  consisted 
not  in  consecrated  buildings  or  material  temples.  We 
remembered  the  ark  of  the  Israelites  which  had  so- 
journed for  years  in  the  desert,  with  no  dwelling  place 
but  the  tabernacle  of  the  plain.  We  thought  of  Abra- 
ham and  the  ancient  patriarchs,  who  laid  their  victims 
on  the  rocks  for  an  altar,  and  burnt  sweet  incense  under 
the  shade  of  the  green  tree. 


OPEN   AIR    PREACHING ITS   HISTORS".  107 

"  The  ordiuance  of  the  Last  Supper,  that  memorial  of 
his  tlying  love  till  his  second  coming,  was  signally  coun- 
tenanced and  backed  with  power  and  refreshing  influence 
from  above.  Blessed  be  God,  for  he  hath  visited  and 
confirmed  his  heritage  when  it  was  weary.  In  that  day 
Zion  put  on  the  beauty  of  Sharon  and  Carmel;  the  moun- 
tains broke  forth  into  singing,  and  the  desert  place  was 
made  to  bud  and  blossom  as  the  rose.  Few  such  days 
were  seen  in  the  desolate  Church  of  Scotland;  and  few 
will  ever  witness  the  like.  There  was  a  rich  effusion  of 
the  Spirit  shed  abroad  in  many  hearts;  their  soids,  filled 
with  heavenly  transports,  seemed  to  breathe  a  diviner 
element,  and  to  burn  upwards  as  with  the  fire  of  a  pure 
and  holy  devotion.  The  ministers  were  visibly  assisted 
to  speak  home  to  the  conscience  of  the  hearers.  It 
seemed  as  if  God  had  touched  their  lips  with  a  live  coal 
from  oif  his  altar:  for  they  who  witnessed  declared  they 
carried  themselves  more  like  ambassadors  from  the  court 
of  heaven  than  inen  cast  in  earthly  mould. 

"  The  tables  were  served  by  some  gentlemen  and 
persons  of  the  gravest  deportment.  None  were  admitted 
without  tokens  as  usual,  which  were  distributed  on  the 
Saturday,  but  only  to  such  as  were  known  to  some  of  the 
ministers  or  persons  of  trust  to  be  free  of  public  scan- 
dals. All  the  regular  forms  were  gone  through.  The 
communicants  entered  at  one  end  and  retired  at  the 
other,  a  w^ay  being  kept  clear  to  take  their  seats  again  on 
the  hill-side.  Mr.  Welsh  preached  the  action  sermon 
and  served  the  two  first  tables,  as  he  was  ordinarily  jjut 
to  do  so  on  such  occasions.  The  other  four  ministers, 
:\Ir.  Blackader,  Mr.  Dickson,  Mr.  Eiddell,  and  Mr.  Rae, 
exhorted  the  rest  in  their  turn;  the  table  service  was 
closed  by  Mr.  Welsh  with  solemn  thanksgiving,  and  sol- 
emn it  was,  and  sweet  and  edif}-ing  to  see  the  gravity  and 


108  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

composure  of  all  present,  as  well  as  of  all  parts  of  the 
service.  The  communion  was  peaceably  concluded,  all 
the  peoiVle  heartily  offering  up  their  gratitude,  and  sing- 
ing with  a  joj'ful  voice  to  the  Rock  of  their  salvation.  It 
was  pleasant  as  the  night  fell  to  hear  their  melody  swell- 
ing in  full  unison  along  the  hill,  the  whole  congregation 
joining  with  one  accord,  ajid  praising  God  with  the  voice 
of  psalms. 

"  There  were  two  long  tables  and  one  short  across  the 
head,  with  seats  on  each  side.  About  a  hundred  sat  at 
every  table.  There  were  sixteen  tables  in  all,  so  that 
about  three  thousand  two  hundred  communicated  that 
day." 

Perhaps  the  most  remarkable  place  ever  chosen  for  a 
discourse  was  the  centre  of  the  river  Tweed,  where  Mr. 
John  Welsh  often  preached  during  hard  frosts,  in  order 
that  he  might  escape  from  the  authorities  of  either  Scot- 
land or  England,  whichever  might  interfere.  Prize- 
fighters have  often  selected  the  borders  of  two  counties 
for  their  performances,  but  their  prudence  would  seem 
to  have  been  anticipated  by  the  children  of  light. 

It  is  amusing  also  to  read  of  Archbishop  Sharjj's  com- 
manding the  militia  to  be  sent  to  disjDerse  the  crowd  who 
had  gathered  on  the  hill-side  to  hear  Mr.  Blackader,  and 
of  his  being  informed  that  they  had  all  gone  an  hour 
before  to  attend  the  sermon. 

What  the  world  would  have  been  if  there  had  not  been 
preaching  outside  of  walls,  and  beneath  a  more  glorious 
roof  than  these  rafters  of  fir,  I  am  sure  I  cannot  guess. 
It  was  a  brave  day  for  England  when  Whitefield  began 
field  preaching.  When  Wesley  stood  and  preached  a 
sermon  on  his  father's  grave,  at  Epworth,  because  the 
parish  priest  would  not  allow  him  admission  within  the 


OPEN    AIR    PKEACHIlSrG ITS    HISTORY.  109 

(so-called)  sacred  edifice,  Mr.  Wesley  writes  :  "  I  am  well 
assured  that  I  did  far  more  good  to  my  Lincolnshire 
parishioners  by  preaching  three  days  on  my  father's 
tomb  than  I  did  by  preaching  three  years  in  his  pulpit." 
The  same  might  be  said  of  all  the  open  air  preaching 
which  followed,  as  compared  with  the  regular  discourses 
within  doors.  "The  thought  of  preaching  in  the  open 
air  was  suggested  to  Whitefield  by  a  crowd  of  a  thou- 
sand people  unable  to  gain  admission  to  Bermondsey 
church,  where  he  preached  one  Sunday  afternoon.  He 
met  with  no  encouragement  when  he  mentioned  it  to 
some  of  his  friends;  they  thought  it  was  a  '  mad  notion.' 
However,  it  would  have  been  carried  out  the  next  Sun- 
day at  Ironmongers'  Almshouses  had  not  the  preacher 
been  disappointed  in  his  congregation,  which  was  small 
enough  to  hear  him  from  the  pulpit.  He  took  two  ser- 
mons with  him,  one  for  within  and  the  other  for  with- 
out." The  idea  which  had  thus  ripened  into  a  resolve 
had  not  long  to  wait  before  it  was  carried  into  execution. 
The  Chancellor  of  the  Diocese  having  put  impediments 
in  the  way  of  Whitefield's  preaching  in  the  churches  of 
Bristol  on  behalf  of  his  Orphan-house,  he  went  to  preach 
to  the  colliers  at  Kingswood  "  for  the  first  time  on  a 
Saturday  afternoon,  taking  his  stand  on  Hannan  Mount. 
He  spoke  on  Matt.  v.  1,  2,  3,  to  as  many  as  came  to  hear; 
upwards  of  two  hundred  attended.  His  only  remark  in 
his  journal  is.  Blessed  be  God  that  the  ice  is  now  broke, 
and  I  have  now  taken  the  field  !  Some  may  censure  me. 
But  is  there  not  a  cause  ?  Pulijits  are  denied  ;  and  the 
poor  colliers  ready  to  perish  for  lack  of  knowledge." 
Now  he  was  the  owner  of  a  pulpit  that  no  man  could 
take  from  him,  and  his  heart  rejoiced  in  this  great  gift. 

On  the    following   day   the  journal  relates,  "  All  the 
church  doors  being  now  shut,  and  if  open  not  able  to 


110  LECTUEES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

contain  half  that  came  to  hear,  at  three  iu  tlie  afternoon 
I  went  to  Kingswood  among  the  colliers.  God  highly 
favored  us  in  sending  us  a  fine  day,  and  near  two  thou- 
sand people  were  assembled  on  that  occasion.  I 
preached  and  enlarged  on  John  iii.  3  for  near  an  hour, 
and,  I  hoj^e,  to  the  comfort  and  edification  of  those  that 
heard  me."  Two  days  afterwards  he  stood  upon  the  same 
spot,  and  preached  to  a  congregation  of  four  or  five 
thousand  with  great  freedom.  The  bright  sun  over- 
head, and  the  immense  throng  standing  around  him  in 
awful  silence,  formed  a  picture  which  filled  him  with 
"holy  admiration."  On  a  subsequent  Sunday,  Bassleton, 
a  village  two  miles  from  Bristol,  opened  its  church  to 
him,  and  a  numerous  congregation  coming  together,  he 
first  read  prayers  in  the  church,  and  then  j)reached  in 
the  churchyard.  At  four  he  hastened  to  Kingswood. 
Though  the  month  was  Februar}-,  the  weather  was  un- 
usually open  and  mild;  the  setting  sun  shone  with  its 
fullest  power;  the  trees  and  hedges  were  crowded  with 
hearers  who  wanted  to  see  the  preacher  as  well  as  to 
hear  him.  For  an  hour  he  spoke  with  a  voice  loud 
enough  to  be  heard  by  every  one,  and  his  heart  was  not 
without  joy  in  his  own  message.  He  writes  in  his  jour- 
nal: "Blessed  be  God,  the  fire  is  kindled;  may  the  gates 
of  hell  never  be  able  to  prevail  against  it !"'  It  is  impor- 
tant to  know  what  were  his  feelings  when  he  met  those 
immense  field  congregations,  whose  numbers  had  grown 
from  two  hundred  to  twenty  thousand,  and  what  were 
the  efi'ects  of  his  preaching  upon  his  audience.  His  own 
words  are,  "  Having  no  righteousness  of  their  own  to  re- 
nounce, the  colliers  were  glad  to  hear  of  Jesus,  who  was 
a  friend  to  publicans,  and  came  not  to  call  the  righteous, 
but  sinners,  to  rei^entance.  The  first  discovery  of  their 
being  affected  was,  to  see  the  white  gutters  made  by 


OPEN   AIR   PREACHING — ITS   HISTORY.  Ill 

their  tears,  which  plentifully  fell  down  their  black 
cheeks,  as  they  came  out  of  their  coal  pits.  Hundreds 
and  hundreds  of  them  were  soon  brought  under  deep 
convictions,  which  (as  the  event  proved)  happily  ended 
in  a  sound  and  thorough  conversion.  The  change  was 
visible  to  all,  though  numbers  chose  to  impute  it  to  any- 
thing rather  than  the  finger  of  God.  As  the  scene  was 
quite  new,  and  I  had  just  begun  to  be  an  extempore 
preacher,  it  often  occasioned  many  inward  conflicts. 
Sometimes,  when  twenty  thousand  people  were  before 
me,  I  had  not,  in  my  own  aiDpreheusion,  a  word  to  say, 
either  to  God  or  them.  But  I  was  never  totally 
deserted,  and  frequently  knew  by  happy  experience  what 
our  Lord  meant  when  he  said,  '  Out  of  his  belly  shall 
flow  rivers  of  living  water.'  The  open  firmament  above 
me,  the  prospect  of  the  adjacent  fields,  with  the  sight  of 
thousands  and  thousands,  some  in  coaches  some  on  horse- 
back, and  some  on  the  trees,  and,  at  times,  all  affected  and 
drenched  in  tears  together,  to  which  sometimes  was 
added  the  solemnity  of  the  approaching  evening,  was  al- 
most too  much  for,  and  quite  overcame,  me." 

Wesley  writes  in  his  journal,  "  Saturday,  31  [March, 
1731].  In  the  evening  I  reached  Bristol,  and  met  Mr. 
Whitefield  there.  I  could  scarce  reconcile  myself  at  first 
to  this  strange  way  of  preaching  in  the  fields,  of  which 
he  set  me  an  example  on  Sunda}^;  having  been  all  my  life 
(till  very  lately)  so  tenacious  of  every  point  relating  to 
decency  and  order,  that  I  should  have  thought  the  sav- 
ing of  souls  almost  a  sin,  if  had  it  not  been  done  in  a 
church."  Such  were  the  feelings  of  a  man  who  in  after 
life  became  one  of  the  greatest  open  air  preachers  that 
ever  lived ! 

I  shall  not  tarry  to  describe  Mr.  Whitefield  on  our  own 
Kennington  Common  among  the  tens  of  thousands,  or  at 


112  LECTURES  TO  MT  STUDENTS. 

MoorfielJs  early  in  the  morning,  when  the  lanterns 
twinkled  like  so  many  glow-worms  on  a  grassy  bank  on  a 
summer's  night,  neither  will  I  mention  the  multitudes  of 
glorious  scenes  with  Wesley  and  his  more  renowned 
preachers;  but  a  jjicture  more  like  that  which  some  of 
you  can  easily  copy  has  taken  a  strong  hold  npon  my 
memory';  and  I  set  it  before  you  that  you  may  never  in 
times  to  come  despise  the  day  of  small  things: — 

"Wesley  reached  Newcastle  on  Friday,  the  28th  of  May. 
On  walking  out,  after  tea,  he  was  surprised  and  shocked 
at  the  abounding  wickedness.  Drunkenness  and  swear- 
ing seemed  general,  and  even  the  mouths  of  little  chil- 
dren were  full  of  curses.  How  he  sj)ent  the  Saturday 
we  are  not  informed;  but,  on  Sunday  morning  at  seven, 
he  and  John  Taylor  took  their  stand  near  the  pumj^,  in 
Sandgate,  '  the  poorest  and  most  contemptible  j)art  of 
the  town,'  and  began  to  sing  the  Old  Hundredth  Psalm 
and  tune.  Three  or  four  people  came  about  them,  to  see 
what  was  the  matter;  these  soon  increased  in  number^ 
and,  before  Wesley  finished  preaching,  his  congregation 
consisted  of  from  twelve  to  fifteen  hundred  persons. 
When  the  service  was  ended,  the  people  still  stood  gap- 
ing, with  the  most  profound  astonishment,  upon  which 
Wesley  said,  '  If  you  desire  to  know  who  I  am,  my  name 
is  John  Wesley.  At  five  in  the  evening,  with  God's  help, 
I  design  to  preach  here  again.' " 

Glorious  were  those  great  gatherings  in  fields  and 
commons  which  lasted  throughout  the  long  period  in 
which  Wesley  and  Whitefield  blessed  our  nation. 
Field-preaching  was  the  wild  note  of  the  birds  singing 
in  the  trees,  in  testimony  that  the  true  sj)ring-time 
of  religion  had  come.  Birds  in  cages  may  sing  more 
sweetly,  perhaps,  but  their  music  is  not  so  natural,  nor 
so   sure   a  pledge   of  the   coming   summer.     It  was  a 


OPEN   AIE   PREACHING — ITS   HISTORY.  113 

blessed  day  when  Methodists  and  others  began  to  pro- 
claim Jesus  in  the  open  air;  then  were  the  gates  of  hell 
shaken,  and  the  captives  of  the  devil  set  free  by  hun- 
dreds and  by  thousands. 

Once  recommenced,  the  fruitful  agency  of  field-preach- 
ing was  not  allowed  to  cease.  Amid  jeering  crowds  and 
showers  of  rotten  eggs  and  filth,  the  immediate  followers 
of  the  two  great  Methodists  continued  to  storm  village 
after  village  and  town  after  town.  Very  varied  were 
their  adventures,  but  their  success  was  generally  great. 
One  smiles  often  when  reading  incidents  in  their  labors. 
A  string  of  packhorses  is  so  driven  as  to  break  up  a  con- 
gregation, and  a  fire-engine  is  brought  out  and  played 
over  the  throng  to  achieve  the  same  purpose.  Hand- 
bells, old  kettles,  marrow-bones  and  cleavers,  trumpets, 
drums,  and  entire  bands  of  music  were  engaged  to 
drown  the  preachers'  voices.  In  one  case  the  parish 
bull  was  let  loose,  and  in  others  dogs  were  set  to  fight- 
The  preachers  needed  to  have  faces  set  like  flints,  and  so 
indeed  they  had.  John  Furz  says:  "  As  soon  as  I  began 
to  preach,  a  man  came  straight  forward,  and  j^resented 
a  gun  at  my  face,  swearing  that  he  would  blow  my 
brains  out,  if  I  spake  another  word.  However,  I  con- 
tinued speaking,  and  he  continued  swearing,  sometimes 
putting  the  muzzle  of  the  gun  to  my  mouth,  sometimes 
against  my  ear.  While  we  were  singing  the  last  hymn, 
he  got  behind  me,  fired  the  gun,  and  burned  off  part  of 
my  hair."  After  this,  my  brethren,  we  ought  never  to 
speak  of  petty  interruptions  or  annoyances.  The  prox- 
imity of  a  blunderbus  in  the  hands  of  a  son  of  Belial  is 
not  very  conducive  to  collected  thought  and  clear  utter- 
ance, but  the  experience  of  Furz  was  probably  no  worse 
than  that  of  John  Nelson,  who  coolly  says,  "  But  when  I 
was  in  the  middle  of  my  discourse,  one  at  the  outside  of 


114  LECTUEES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

the  congregation  threw  a  stone,  which  cut  me  on  the  head : 
howo-yer,  tliat  made  the  j)eople  give  greater  attention,  es- 
pecially when  they  saw  the  blood  run  down  my  face ;  so  that 
ail  was  quiet  till  I  had  done,  and  was  singing  a  hymn." 
The  life  of  Gideon  Ouseley,  by  Dr.  Ai'thur,  is  one  of 
the  most  powerful  testimonies  to  the  value  of  out-door 
preaching.  In  the  early  part  of  the  present  century, 
from  1800  to  1830,  he  was  in  fidl  vigor,  riding  through- 
out the  whole  of  Ireland,  jjreaching  the  gospel  of  Jesus 
in  every  toAvn.  His  pulpit  was  generally  the  back  of  his 
horse,  and  he  himself  and  his  coadjutors  were  known  as 
the  men  with  the  black  caps,  from  their  habit  of  wearing 
skull  caps.  This  cavalry  ministry-  was  in  its  time  the 
cause  of  a  great  revival  in  Ireland,  and  gave  promise  of 
really  touching  Erin's  deep-seated  curse — the  power  ®f  the 
priesthood,  and  the  superstition  of  the  people.  Ouseley 
showed  at  all  times  much  shrewdness,  and  a  touch  of 
common-sense  humor;  hence  he  generally  preached  in 
front  of  the  ajoothecarj^'s  window,  because  the  mob  would 
be  the  less  liberal  with  their  stones,  or  next  best  he  chose 
to  have  the  residence  of  a  respectable  Catholic  in  his  rear, 
for  the  same  reason.  His  sermon  from  the  stone  stairs 
of  the  market  house  of  Enniscorthy  was  a  fair  specimen 
of  his  dexterous  method  of  meeting  an  excited  mob 
of  Irishmen.  I  will  give  it  you  at  length,  that  you  may 
know  how  to  act  if  ever  you  are  placed  in  similar  circum- 
stances:— "  He  took  his  stand,  put  off  his  hat,  assumed  his 
black  velvet  cap,  and,  after  a  few  moments  sjient  in  silent 
prayer,  commenced  to  sing.  Peoi:tle  began  to  gather 
round  him,  and  during  the  singing  of  a  few  verses,  were 
quiet  and  apparently  attentive,  but  soon  began  to  be 
restless  and  noisy.  He  then  commenced  to  pray,  and 
quietness  for  a  short  time  followed;  but  presently,  as 
the  crowd  increased,  it  became  uneasy,  and  even  turbu- 


OPEX   AIR    PREACniXG ITS    HISTORY.  115 

lent.  He  closed  bis  prayer,  and  began  to  preach;  but 
evidently  his  audience  were  not  disposed  to  hear  him. 
Before  many  sentences  had  been  uttered,  missiles  began 
to  fly — at  first  not  of  a  very  destructive  character,  being 
refuse — ^vegetables,  potatoes,  turnips,  etc.;  but  before 
long  harder  materials  were  thrown — brickbats  and 
stones,  some  of  which  reached  him  and  inflicted 
sHght  wounds.  He  stoj^ped,  and,  after  a  pause,  cried 
out,  '  Boys  dear,  what's  the  matter  with  you  to-day  ? 
Won't  you  let  an  old  man  talk  to  you  a  little  ?  '*  '  We 
don't  want  to  hear  a  word  out  of  your  old  head,'  was  the 
promi:»t  reply  from  one  in  the  crowd.  '  But  I  want  to 
tell  you  what,  I  think,  you  would  like  to  hear.'  'No, 
we'll  like  nothing  you  can  tell  us.'  '  How  do  you  know  ? 
I  want  to  tell  you  a  story  about  one  a'ou  all  say  you  resj)ect 
and  love.'  •  Who's  that  ? '  '  The  blessed  Virgin.'  '  Och, 
and  what  do  yoii  know  about  the  blessed  Virgin?' 
'More  than  you  think;  and  I'm  sure  you'll  be  pleased 
with  what  I  have  to  tell  you,  if  you'll  only  listen  to  me.' 
*  Come  then,'  said  another  voice,  '  let  us  hear  what  he 
has  to  say  about  the  Holy  Mother.'  And  there  was  a 
lull,  and  the  missionary  began:  'There  was  once  a 
young  couple  to  be  married,  belonging  to  a  little  town 
called  Cana.  It's  away  in  that  country  where  our 
blessed  Saviour  sj)ent  a  great  part  of  his  life  among  us; 
and  the  decent  people  whose  children  were  to  be  mar- 
ried thought  it  right  to  invite  the  blessed  Virgin  to  the 
wedding  feast,  and  her  blessed  Son  too,  and  some  of  his 
disciples;  and  they  all  thought  it  right  to  come.  As 
they  sat  at  table,  the  Virgin  Mother  thought  she  saw 
that  the  wine  provided  for  the  entertainment  began  to 
run  short,  and  she  was  troubled  lest  the  decent  young 
people  should  be  shamed  before  their  neighbors;  and  so 
she  whispered  to  her  blessed  Son,  "  They  have  no  wine." 


116  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

"  Don't  let  tliat  trouble  you,  ma'am,"  said  lie.  And  in  a 
minute  or  two  after,  slie,  knowing  well  what  was  in  liis 
good  heart,  said  to  one  of  the  servants  that  was  j^assing 
behind  them,  "Whatsoever  he  saitli  unto  you,  do  it." 
Accordingly,  by  and  by,  our  blessed  Lord  said  to  an- 
other of  them — I  suppose  they  had  2^^ssed  the  word 
among  themselves — "Fill  those  large  water-pots  with 
water."  (There  were  six  of  them  standing  in  a  corner 
of  the  room,  and  they  held  nearly  three  gallons  ajnece, 
for  the  people  of  those  countries  use  a  great  deal  of 
water  every  day.)  And,  remembering  the  words  of  the 
Holy  Virgin,  they  did  his  bidding,  and  came  back,  and 
said,  "  Sir,  the}^  are  full  to  the  brim."  "  Take  some, 
then  to  the  master  at  the  head  of  the  table,"  he  said. 
And  they  did  so,  and  the  master  tasted  it,  and  lo  and 
behold  you !  it  was  wine,  and  the  best  of  wine  too.  And 
there  was  plenty  of  it  for  the  feast,  ay,  and,  it  may  be, 
some  left  to  help  the  young  couple  setting  up  house- 
keeping. AhcI  all  that,  you  see,  came  of  the  servants  tak- 
ing the  advice  of  the  blessed  Virgin,  and  doing  what  she 
bid  them.  Now,  if  she  was  here  among  us  this  day,  she 
would  give  just  the  same  advice  to  every  one  of  us, 
"  Whatsoever  lie  saitli  to  you,  do  it,"  and  with  good  rea- 
son too,  for  well  she  knows  there  is  nothing  but  love  iji 
his  heart  to  us,  and  nothing  but  wisdom  comes  from  his 
lilDS.  And  now  I'll  tell  you  some  of  the  things  he  says 
to  us.  He  says,  "  Strive  to  enter  in  at  the  strait  gate; 
for  many,  I  say  unto  you,  will  strive  to  enter  in,  and 
shall  not  be  able. " '  And  straightway  the  preacher  briefly, 
but  clearly  and  forcibly,  expounded  the  nature  of  the 
gate  of  life,  its  straitness,  and  the  dread  necessity  for 
pressing  into  it,  winding  up  with  the  Virgin's  counsel, 
'  Whatsoever  he  saitli  unto  you,  do  it.'  In  like  manner 
lie  explained,  and  pressed  upon  his  hearers,  some  other 


OPEiN'   AIE,   PEEACHING — ITS   HISTORY.  117 

of  the  weighty  words  of  our  divine  Lord, — '  Except  a 
man  be  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  God';  and,  'If  any  man  will  come 
after  me,  let  him  deny  himself,  and  take  up  his  cross 
daily  and  follow  me,' — enforcing  his  exhortation  in  each 
instance  by  the  Vii'gin's  counsel  to  the  servants  at  Cana. 
'But  no,'  at  last  he  broke  forth,  'no;  with  all  the  love 
and  reverence  you  pretend  for  the  blessed  Virgin,  you 
won't  take  her  advice,  but  will  Hsten  w^illingly  to  any 
di'unken  schoolmaster  that  will  wheedle  you  into  a  pub- 
lic house,  and  put  mischief  and  wickedness  into  your 
heads.'  Here  he  was  interrupted  by  a  voice,  which 
seemed  to  be  that  of  an  old  man,  exclaiming,  '  True  for 
ye,  true  for  ye.  If  you  were  tellin'  lies  all  the  days 
of  your  life,  it's  the  truth  you're  tellin'  now.'  And  so 
the  preacher  got  leave  to  finish  his  discourse  with  not  a 
little  of  good  effect." 

The  history  of  Primitive  Methodism  might  here  be  in- 
corporated bodily  as  jDart  of  our  sketch  of  Field-preach- 
ing, for  that  wonderful  mission  movement  owed  its  rise 
and  progress  to  this  agency.  It  is,  however,  a  singular 
reproduction  of  the  events  which  attended  the  earlier 
Methodism  of  eighty  or  ninety  years  before.  The  Wes- 
leyans  had  become  respectable,  and  it  was  time  that  the 
old  fire  should  burn  up  among  another  class  of  men. 
Had  Wesley  been  ahve  he  would  have  gloried  in  the 
poor  but  brave  preachers  who  risked  theii"  lives  to  pro" 
claim  the  message  of  eternal  love  among  the  depraved, 
and  he  would  have  headed  them  in  theii'  crusade.  As  it 
was,  other  leaders  came  forward,  and  it  was  not  long  be- 
fore their  zeal  called  forth  a  host  of  fervent  witnesses 
who  could  not  be  daunted  by  mobs,  or  squii-es,  or  clergy- 
men; nor  even  chilled  by  the  genteel  brethren  whose 
proprieties  they  so  dreadfully  shocked.     Then  came  forth 


118  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

the  old  weapons  in  abundance.  Agricultural  produce 
in  all  stages  of  decomjDosition  rewarded  the  zealous 
apostles — turnips  and  potatoes  were  the  first  course,  and 
rotten  eggs  followed  in  special  abundance,  these  last  we 
note  were  frequently  <700.se  eggs,  selected  we  suppose  for 
their  size.  A  tub  of  coal-tar  was  often  in  readiness,  filth 
from  the  horse  ponds  was  added,  and  all  this  to  the 
music  of  tin  whistles,  horns,  and  watchmen's  rattles. 
Barrels  of  ale  were  provided  by  the  advocates  of  "  Church 
and  king"  to  refresh  the  orthodox  assailants,  while  both 
preachers  and  disciples  were  treated  with  brutality  such 
as  to  excite  compassion  even  in  the  hearts  of  adversaries. 
All  this  was,  happily,  a  violation  of  law,  but  the  great  un- 
paid winked  at  the  transgres.:ors,  and  endavored  to 
bully  the  preacher  into  silence.  For  Christ's  sake  they 
were  content  to  be  treated  as  vagrants  and  vagabonds, 
and  the  Lord  put  great  honor  upon  them.  Disciples 
were  made  and  the  Banters  multiplied.  Even  till  a  late 
period  these  devoted  brethren  have  been  opposed  with 
violence,  but  their  joyful  experience  has  led  them  to 
persevere  in  their  singing  through  the  streets,  camp- 
meetings,  and  other  irregularities:  blessed  irregularities 
by  which  hundreds  of  wanderers  have  been  met  with  and 
led  to  the  fold  of  Jesus. 

I  have  no  time  further  to  illustate  my  subject  by  de- 
scriptions of  the  work  of  Christmas  Evans  and  others  in 
Wales,  or  of  the  Haldanes  in  Scotlanel,  or  even  of  Row- 
land Hill  and  his  brethren  in  England.  If  you  wish  to 
pursue  the  subject  these  names  may  serve  as  hints  for 
discovering  abundant  materials;  and  I  may  add  to  the 
list  "The  Life  of  Dr.  Guthrie,"  in  which  he  records  notable 
open-air  assemblies  at  the  time  of  the  DisrujDtion,  when  as 
yet  the  Free  Church  had  no  places  of  worship  built  with 
human  hands. 


OPEN   AIR   PEEACHING ITS   HISTORY.  119 

-I  must  linger  a  moment  over  Kobert  Flockhart  of 
Edinburgh,  who,  though  a  lesser  light,  was  a  constant  one, 
and  a  fit  example  to  the  bulk  of  Christ's  street  witnesses. 
Every  evening,  in  all  weathers  and  amid  many  persecu- 
tions, did  this  brave  man  continue  to  speak  in  the  street 
for  forty-three  years.  Think  of  that,  and  never  be  dis- 
couraged. .  "When  he  was  tottering  to  the  grave  the  old 
soldier  was  still  at  his  post.  "  Compassion  to  the  souls 
of  men  drove  me,"  said  he,  "to  the  streets  and  lanes  of  my 
native  city,  to  plead  with  sinners  and  persuade  them  to 
come  to  Jesus.  The  love  of  Christ  constrained  me." 
Neither  the  hostility  of  the  police,  nor  the  insults  of 
Papists,  Unitarians,  and  the  like  could  move  him;  he 
rebuked  error  in  the  plainest  terms,  and  preached  salva- 
tion by  grace  with  all  his  might.  So  lately  has  he  passed 
away  that  Edinburgh  remembers  him  stilL  There  is 
room  for  such  in  aU  our  cities  and  towns,  and  need  for 
hundreds  of  his  noble  order  in  this  huge  nation  of  Lon- 
don— can  I  call  it  less? 

In  America  men  like  Peter  Cartwright,  Lorenzo  Dow, 
Jacob  Gruber,  and  others  of  a  past  generation,  carried 
on  a  glorious  warfare  under  the  open  heavens  in  their 
own  original  fashion;  and  in  later  times  Father  Taylor 
has  given  us  another  proof  of  the  immeasurable  power  of 
this  mode  of  crusade  in  his  "Seven  Years  of  Street 
Preaching  in  San  Francisco,  California."  Though  sorely 
tempted,  I  shall  forbear  at  this  time  from  making  extracts 
fi'om  that  very  remarkable  work. 

The  camp-meeting  is  a  sort  of  associated  field-jDreach- 
ing,  and  has  become  an  institution  in  the  United  States, 
where  everything  must  needs  be  done  upon  a  great  scale. 
This  would  lead  me  into  another  subject,  and  therefore  I 
shall  merely  give  you  a  glimpse  at  that  means  of  useful- 
ness, and  then  forbear. 


120  LECTUEES  TO  MY  STUDENTS. 

The  following  description  of  the  earlier  camp-meet- 
ings in  America  is  from  the  pen  of  the  author  of  a  "  Narra- 
tive of  a  Mission  to  Nova  Scotia": — "  The  tents  are  gener- 
ally pitched  in  the  form  of  a  crescent,  in  the  centre  of 
which  is  an  elevated  stand  for  the  j^reachers,  round  which, 
in  all  directions,  are  i^laced  rows  of  j)larLks  for  the  people 
to  sit  upon  while  they  hoar  the  word.  Among  the  trees, 
which  spread  their  tops  over  this  forest  church,  are  hung 
the  lamps,  which  burn  all  night,  and  give  light  to  the  vari- 
ous exercises  of  religion,  which  occu2:)y  the  solemn  mid- 
night hours.  It  was  nearly  eleven  o'clock  at  night  when 
I  first  arrived  on  the  border  of  the  camp.  I  left  my  boat 
at  the  edge  of  the  wood,  one  mile  from  the  scene;  and 
when  I  oj^ened  upon  the  camj)- ground,  my  curiosity  was 
converted  into  astonishment,  to  behold  the  pendant  lamps 
among  the  trees;  the  tents  half-encircling  a  large  sj^ace; 
four  thousand  people  in  the  centre  of  this,  listening  with 
jarofound  attention  to  the  preacher,  whose  stentorian 
voice  and  animated  manner  carried  the  vibration  of  each 
word  to  a  great  distance  through  the  dee2)ly  umbrageous 
wood,  where,  save  the  twinkling  lamps  of  the  camp,  brood- 
ing darkness  spread  a  tenfold  gloom.  AU  excited  my  as- 
tonishment, and  forcibly  brought  before  my  view  the 
Hebrews  in  the  wilderness.  The  meetings  generally 
begin  on  Monday  morning,  and  on  Friday  morning  follow- 
ing break  up.  The  daily  exercises  are  carried  forward  in 
the  foUowing  manner:  in  the  morning  at  five  o'clock  the 
horn  sounds  through  the  camp,  either  for  preaching  or 
for  prayer;  this  with  similar  exercises,  or  a  little  inter- 
mission, brings  on  the  breakfast  hour,  eight  o'clock;  iit 
ten,  the  horn  sounds  for  public  preaching,  after  which, 
until  noon,  the  interval  is  filled  up  with  little  groups 
of  praying  persons,  who  scatter  themselves  up  and  down 
the  camp,  both  in  the  tents  and  under  the  trees.     After 


OrEX  AIFv   PKE4.CHIXG ITS   HISTORY.  121 

dinner  tlie  liorn  sounds  at  two  o'clock;  this  is  for  preach- 
ing. I  should  have  observed  that  a  female  or  two  is 
generally  left  in  each  tent,  to  prepare  materials  for 
dinner.  A  fire  is  kept  burning  in  diflerent  parts  of 
the  camj),  where  water  is  boiled  for  tea,  the  use  of  ardent 
spirits  being  forbidden.  After  the  afternoon  preaching 
things  take  nearly  the  same  course  as  in  the  morning, 
only  the  praying  grouj^s  are  uj)on  a  large  scale,  and 
more  scope  is  given  to  animated  exhortations  and  loud 
prayers.  Some  who  exercise  on  these  occasions  soon  lose 
theii'  voices,  and,  at  the  end  of  a  camp-meeting,  many  of 
both  preachers  and  peo^ole  can  only  sj^eak  in  a  whisper. 
At  six  o'clock  in  the  evening  the  horn  summons  to  preach- 
ing, after  which,  though  in  no  regulated  form,  all  -the 
above  means  continue  until  evening;  yea,  and  during 
whatever  part  of  the  night  you  awake,  the  Vv'ilderness  is 
vocal  with  praise." 

Whether  or  not  under  discreet  management  some 
such  gatherings  could  be  held  in  our  country  I  cannot 
decide,  but  it  does  strike  me  as  worthy  of  consideration 
whether  in  some  spacious  grounds  services  might  not  be 
held  in  summer  weather,  say  for  a  week  at  a  time,  by 
ministers  who  would  follow  each  other  in  proclaiming 
the  gospel  beneath  the  trees.  Sermons  and  prayer- 
meetings,  addresses  and  hymns,  might  follow  each  other 
in  wise  succession,  and  perhaps  thousands  might  be  in- 
duced to  gather  to  worship  God,  among  whom  w^ould 
be  scores  and  hundreds  who  never  enter  our  regular 
sanctuaries.  Not  only  must  something  be  done  to  evan- 
gelize the  millions,  but  everything  must  be  done,  and  per- 
haps amid  variety  of  efibrt  the  best  thing  would  be  dis- 
covered. "  If  by  any  means  I  may  save  some"  must  be 
our  motto,. and  this  must  urge  us  onward  to  go  forth  in- 
to the  highways  and  hedges  and  compel  them  to  come  in. 
Brethren,  I  speak  as  unto  wise  men,  consider  what  I  sry. 


LECTUEE  V. 

OPEN  AIE  PREACHING— REMARKS  THEKEON. 

I  FEAR  that  in  some  of  our  less  enliglitened  country 
churches  there  are  conservative  individuals  who  almost 
believe  that  to  j^i'each  anywhere  except  in  the  chapel 
would  be  a  shocking  innovation,  a  sure  token  of  heret- 
ical tendencies,  and  a  mark  of  zeal  without  knowledge. 
Any  young  brother  who  studies  his  comfort  among  them 
must  not  suggest  anything  so  irregular  as  a  sermon  out- 
side the  walls  of  their  Zion.  In  the  olden  times  we  are 
told  "  Wisdom  crieth  without,  she  uttereth  her  voice  in 
the  streets,  she  crieth  in  the  chief  places  of  concourse,  in 
the  openings  of  the  gates";  but  the  wise  men  of  ortho- 
doxy would  have  wisdom  gagged,  except  beneath  the 
roof  of  a  licensed  building.  These  people  believe  in  a 
New  Testament  which  says,  "  Go  out  into  the  highways 
and  hedges  and  comi:»el  them  to  come  in,"  and  yet  they 
dislike  a  literal  obedience  to  the  command.  Do  they  im- 
agine that  a  special  blessing  results  from  sitting  upon  a 
particular  deal  board  with  a  piece  of  straight-ujD  panel- 
ling at  their  back — an  invention  of  discomfort  which 
ought  long  ago  to  have  made  people  prefer  to  worship 
outside  on  the  green  grass?  Do  they  sujipose  tluit 
grace  rebounds  from  sounding-boards,  or  can  be  beat  en 
out  of  pulpit  cushions  in  the  same  fashion  as  the  dus'.-  ? 

122 


OPEN   AIR   PREACHING— REMARKS   THEREON.       123 

Are  they  euamorea  of  the  bad  air,  aud  the  stifling  stuffi- 
ness which  in  some  of  our  meeting-houses  make  them  al- 
most as  loathsome  to  the  nose  and  to  the  lungs  as  the 
mass-houses  of  Papists  with  their  cheap  and  nasty  in- 
cense'? To  reply  to  these  objectors  is  a  task  for  which 
we  have  no  heart:  we  prefer  foemen  worthy  of  the  steel 
we  use  upon  them,  but  these  are  scarcely  worth  a  pass- 
incr  remark.  One  smiles  at  their  prejudice,  but  we  may 
yet  have  to  weep  over  it.  if  it  be  allowed  to  stand  m  the 
way  of  usefulness. 

No   sort   of  defence  is  needed  for  preachmg   out  ot 
doors-  but   it   would   need   very   potent   arguments   to 
prove'  that   a   man  had   done  his  duty  who  has  never 
preached   beyond  the_  walls   of  his  meeting-house      A 
defence  is  required  rather  for  services  withm  buildings 
than  for  worship  outside  of  them.     Apologies  are  cer- 
tainly wanted  for  architects  who  pile  up  brick  and  stone 
into  the  skies  when  there  is  so  much  need  for  preaching- 
rooms   among   poor   sinners   down    below.     Defence   is 
o-reatly  needed  for  forests  of  stone  pillars,  which  prevent 
The   preacher's   being   seen   and   his   voice   from    bemg 
heard-  for  high-pitched  Gothic  roofs  in  which  aU  sound 
is  lost,'  and  men   are  killed  by  being  compelled  to  shout 
tUl  they  burst  their  blood-vessels;  and  also  for  the  wilful 
creation  of  echoes  by   exposing   hard,  sound-re  fr acting 
surfaces  to   satisfy  the  demands  of  art,  to  the  total  over- 
looking of  the  comfort  of  both  audience   and   speaker. 
Surely'^also  some  decent  excuse  is  badly  wanted  for  those 
childish  people  who  must  needs  waste  money  m  placing 
hob-oblins  and  monsters  on  the  outside  of  their  preach- 
,uo-   houses,    and  must  have  other  ridiculous  pieces  of 
Fernery   stuck   up  both   inside   and   outside,    to   deface 
rather  than  to  adorn  their  churches  and  chapels:  but  no 
defence  whatever  is  wanted  for    using    the    heavenly 


124  LECTUEES  TO  MY  STUDENTS. 

Father's  vast  audience  chamber,  wliicli  is  in  every  way  so 
well  fitted  for  the  proclamation  of  a  gospel  so  free,  so 
fiill,  so  exi)ansive,  so  sublime.  The  usual  holding  of  re- 
ligious assemblies  under  cover  may  be  excused  in 
England,  because  our  climate  is  so  execrably  bad;  but  it 
were  well  to  cease  from  such  use  when  the  weather  is 
fine  and  fixed,  and  sjoace  and  quiet  can  be  obtained. 
We  are  not  like  the  people  of  Palestine,  who  can  foresee 
their  weather,  and  are  not  every  hour  in  danger  of  a 
shower;  but  if  we  meet  siih  Jove,  as  the  Latins  say,  wo 
must  expect  the  Jove  of  the  hour  to  be  Juxnter xjluvius. 
We  can  always  have  a  deluge  if  we  do  not  wish  for  it, 
but  if  we  fix  a  service  out  of  doors  for  next  Sunday 
morning,  we  have  no  guarantee  that  we  shall  not  all  be 
drenched  to  the  skin.  It  is  true  that  some  notable  ser- 
mons have  been  preached  in  the  rain,  but  as  a  general 
rule  the  ardor  of  our  auditors  is  hardly  so  great  as  to 
endure  mvich  damping.  Besides,  the  cold  of  our  winters 
is  too  intense  for  services  out  of  doors  all  the  year 
round,  though  in  Scotland  I  have  heard  of  sermons  amid 
the  sleet,  and  John  Nelson  writes  of  speaking  to  "a 
crowd  too  large  to  get  into  the  house,  though  i^  was 
dark  and  snowed."  Such  things  may  be  done  now  and 
then,  but  exceptions  only  prove  the  rule.  It  is  fair  also 
to  admit  that  when  people  will  come  within  walls,  if  the 
house  be  so  commodious  that  a  man  could  not  readily 
make  more  persons  hear,  and  if  it  be  always  full,  there 
can  be  no  need  to  go  out  of  doors  to  j^reach  to  fewer 
than  there  would  be  indoors;  for,  all  things  considered, 
a  comfortable  seat  screened  from  the  weather,  and  slmt 
in  from  noise  and  intrusion,  is  helpful  to  a  man's  hearing 
the  gospel  with  solemnity  and  quiet  thought.  A  well 
ventilated,  well  managed  building  is  an  advantage  if  the 
crowds  can  be  accommodated  and  can  be  induced  to  come ; 


OPEN  AIR  PREACHING REMARKS  THEREON.   125 

but  these  conditions  are  very  rarely  met,  and  therefore 
my  voice  is  for  the  fields. 

The  great  hcwfit  of  open-air  preaching  is  that  tve  get  SO 
many  neiv  comers  to  hear  tlie  gospel  ivho  other ivise  would  never 
hear  it.  The  gospel  command  is,  "  Go  je  into  all  the 
world  and  preach  the  gosi^el  to  every  creature,"  but  it  is 
so  little  obeyed  that  one  would  imagine  tliat  it  ran  thus, 
"  Go  into  your  own  place  of  worship  and  preach  the  gos- 
pel to  the  few  creatiu'es  who  will  come  inside."  "  Go  je 
into  the  highways  and  hedges  and  compel  them  to  come 
in," — albeit  it  constitutes  part  of  a  parable,  is  worthy  to 
be  taken  very  literally,  and  in  so  doing  its  meaning  will 
be  best  carried  out.  We  ought  actually  to  go  into  the 
streets  and  lanes  and  highways,  for  there  are  lurkers  in 
the  hedges,  tramps  on  the  highway,  street-walkers,  and 
lane-haunters,  whom  we  shall  never  reach  unless  we 
pursue  them  into  their  own  domains.  Sportsmen  must 
not  stop  at  home  and  wait  for  the  birds  to  come  and  be 
shot  at,  neither  must  fishermen  throw  their  nets  inside 
their  boats  and  hope  to  take  many  fish.  Traders  go  to 
the  markets,  they  follow  their  customers  and  go  out  after 
business  if  it  wUl  not  come  to  them  ;  and  so  must  we. 
Some  of  our  brethren  are  prosing  on  and  on,  to  empty 
pews  and  musty  hassocks,  while  they  might  be  confer- 
ring lasting  benefit  upon  hundreds  by  quitting  the  old 
walls  for  awhile,  and  seeking  living  stones  for  Jesus. 
Let  them  come  out  of  Eehoboth  and  find  room  at  the 
street  corner,  let  them  leave  Salem  and  seek  the  peace 
of  neglected  souls,  let  them  dream  no  longer  at  Bethel, 
but  make  an  open  space  to  be  none  other  than  the  house 
of  God,  let  them  come  down  from  Mount  Zion,  and  up 
from  Jj^non,  and  even  away  from  Trinity,  and  St.  Agnes, 
and  St.  Michael-aud-All-Angels,  and  St.  Margaret-Pat- 
tens, and  St.  Vedast,  and  St.  Ethelburga,  and  all  the  rest 


liiG  Lectures  to  M.r  student.^, 

ol'  them,  and  try  to  find  new  saints  among  the  sinners 
who  are  j^erishing  for  lack  of  knowledge. 

I  have  known  street  preaching  in  London  remarkably 
blest  to  persons  wliose  character  and  condition  woukl 
quite  preclude  their  having  been  found  in  a  place  of 
■worship.  I  know,  for  instance,  a'  Jewish  friend  who,  on 
coming  from  Poland,  understood  nothing  whatever  of  the 
English  language.  In  going  about  the  streets  on  the 
Sunday  he  noticed  the  numerous  groups  listening  to 
earnest  sj)eakers.  He  had  never  seen  such  a  thing  in 
his  own  country,  where  the  Russian  pohce  would  I'e 
alarmed  if  groups  Avere  seen  in  conversation,  and  he  was 
therefore  all  the  more  interested.  As  he  acquired  a  little 
English  he  became  more  and  more  constant  in  his  attend- 
ance upon  street  speakers,  indeed,  it  was  very  much 
with  the  view  of  learning  the  language  that  he  listened  at 
the  first.  I  am  afraid  that  the  English  which  he  acquired 
was  not  of  the  very  best,  which  judgment  I  form  as  much 
from  what  I  have  heard  of  open  air  oratory  as  from  hav- 
ing listened  to  our  Jewish  friend  himself,  whose  theology 
is  better  than  his  English.  However,  that  "Israelite 
indeed'"  has  always  reason  to  commend  the  street 
j)reachers.  How  many  other  strangers  and  foreigners 
may,  by  the  same  instrumentality,  have  became  fellow- 
citizens  with  the  saints  and  of  the  household  of  God  we 
cannot  tell.  Romanists  also  are  met  with  in  this  manner 
more  frequently  than  some  would  suppose.  It  is  seldom 
prudent  to  jDublish  cases  of  conversion  among  Papists, 
but  my  own  observation  leads  me  to  believe  that  they  are 
far  more  common  than  they  were  ten  years  ago,  and  the 
gracious  work  is  frequently  commenced  by  what  is  heard 
of  the  gosi:)el  at  our  street  corners.  Infidels,  also,  are 
constantly  yielding  to  the  word  of  the  Lord  thus  brought 
home  to  them.     The  street  evangelist,  moreover,  wins 


OPEIT   AIR    PEEACHING — REMARKS   THEREO>r,       127 

attention  from  those  eccentric  people  whose  religion  can 
neither  be  described  nor  imagined.  Such  people  hate 
the  ver}'  sight  ot  our  churches  and  meeting  houses,  but 
will  stand  in  a  crowd  to  hear  what  is  said,  and  are  often 
most  impressed  when  they  affect  the  greatest  contempt. 

Besides,  there  are  numbers  of  persons  in  great  cities 
who  have  not  fit  clothes  to  worship  in,  according  to  the 
current  idea  of  what  clothes  ought  to  be  ;  and  not  a  few 
whose  persons  as  well  as  their  garments  are  so  filthy,  so 
odorous,  so   unapproachable,  that   the   greatest   philan- 
throj)ist  and  the  most  levelling  democrat  might  desire  to 
have  a  little  sj)ace  between  himself  and  their  lively  indi- 
vidualities.    There   are   others   who,   whatever   raiment 
the}^  wear,  would  not  go  into  a  chaj^el  upon  any  consid- 
eration, for  they  consider  it  to  be  a  sort  of  punishment 
to  attend   divine  service.     Possibly  they  remember  the 
dull  Sundays  of  their  childhood  and  the  dreary  sermons 
they  have  heard  when  for  a  few  times  they  have  entered 
a  church,  but  it  is  certain  that  they  look  ujDon  persons 
who  attend  places  of  worship  as  getting  off  the  punish- 
ment they  ought  to  endure  in  the  next  world  by  suffer- 
ing it  in  this  world  instead.     The  Sunday  newspaper,  the 
pipe,  and  the  pot,  have  more  charms  for  them  than  all 
the  preachments   of  bishops  and   parsons,  whether   of 
church  or  dissent.     The  open-air  evangelist   frequently 
picks  up  these  members  of  the  "  No  church "  party,  and 
in  so  doing  he  often  finds  some  of  the  richest  gems  that 
will  at  last  adorn  the  Kedeemer's  crown  :  jewels,  which, 
by  reason  of  their  roughness,  are  apt  to  be  unnoticed  by 
a  more  fastidious  class  of  soul-winners.     Jonah  in  the 
streets  of  Nineveh  was  heard  by  multitudes  who  would 
never  have  known  of  his  existence  if  he  had  hired  a  hall ; 
John  the  Baptist  by  the  Jordan  awakened  an  interest 
which  would  never  have  been  aroused  had  he  kejpt  to  the 


128  LECTURES   TO   MY    STUDENTS. 

sj^uagogue  ;  and  those  who  went  from  city  to  city  pro- 
claiming everywhere  the  word  of  the  Lord  Jesus  would 
never  have  turned  the  world  upside  down  if  they  had  felt 
it  needful  •  to  confine  themselves  to  iron  rooms  adorned 
with  the  orthodox  announcement,  "  The  gospel  of  the 
grace  of  God  will  (D.V.)  be  preached  here  next  Lord's 
day  evening." 

I  am  quite  sure,  too,  that  if  we  could  persuade  our 
friends  in  the  country  to  come  out  a  good  many  times  in 
the  year  and  hold  a  service  in  a  meadow,  or  in  a  shady 
grove,  or  on  the  hill-side,  or  in  a  garden,  or  on  a  com- 
mon, it  would  he  all  the  hetter  for  the  usiud  hearers.  Thfi 
mere  novelty  of  the  place  would  freshen  their  interest, 
and  wake  them  up.  The  slight  change  of  scene  would 
have  a  wonderful  effect  upon  the  more  somnolent.  See 
Kow  mechanically  they  move  into  their  usual  place  of 
worship,  and  how  mechanically  they  go  out  again.  They 
fall  into  their  seats  as  if  at  last  they  had  found  a  resting 
place  ;  they  rise  to  sing  with  an  amazing  effort,  and  they 
drop  down  before  you  have  time  for  a  doxology  at  the 
close  of  the  hymn  because  they  did  not  notice  it  was 
coming.  What  logs  some  regular  hearers  are!  Many 
of  them  are  asleep  with  their  eyes  open.  After  sitting  a 
certain  number  of  years  in  the  same  spot,  where  the  jjews, 
pulpit,  galleries,  and  all  things  else  are  always  the  same, 
except  that  they  get  a  little  dirtier  and  dingier  eveiy  week, 
where  everybody  occupies  the  same  position  for  ever  and 
for  evermore,  and  the  minister's  face,  "voice,  tone  are 
much  the  same  from  January  to  December, — you  get  to 
feel  the  holy  quiet  of  the  scene  and  listen  to  what  is  go- 
ing on  as  though  it  Avere  addressed  to  "the  dull  cold  ear 
of  death."  As  a  miller  hears  his  wheels  as  though  he 
did  not  hear  them,  or  a  stoker  scarcely  notices  the  clatter 
of  his  engine  after  enduring  it  for  a  little  time  ;  or  as  a 


OPEX  AIR  PKEACHTNG REMARKS  THEREON.   120 

dweller  in  Loudon  never  notices  the  ceaseless  grind  of 
the  traffic  ;  so  do  many  members  of  our  congregations 
become  insensible  to  the  most  earnest  addresses,  and 
accept  them  as  a  matter  of  course.  The  preaching  and 
the  rest  of  it  get  to  be  so  usual  that  they  might  as  well 
not  be  at  all.  Hence  a  change  of  place  might  be  useful, 
it  might  prevent  monotony,  shake  up  indifference,  sug- 
gest thought,  and  in  a  thousand  ways  promote  attention, 
and  give  new  hope  of  doing  good.  A  great  lire  which 
should  burn  some  of  our  chapels  to  the  ground  might 
not  be  the  greatest  calamity  which  has  ever  occurred,  if 
it  only  aroused  some  of  those  rivals  of  the  seven  sleepers 
of  Ephesus  who  will  never  be  moved  so  long  as  the  old 
house  and  the  old  pews  hold  together.  Besides,  the 
fresh  ail-  and  plenty  of  it  is  a  grand  thing  for  every  mor- 
tal man,  woman,  and  child.  I  preached  in  Scotland 
twice  on  a  Sabbath  day  at  Blairmore,  on  a  little  height 
by  the  side  of  the  sea,  and  after  discoursing  with  all  my 
might  to  large  congregations,  to  be  counted  by  thou- 
sands, I  did  not  feel  one-half  so  much  exhausted  as  I 
often  am  when  addressing  a  few  hundreds  in  some  hor- 
rible black  hole  of  Calcutta,  called  a  chapel.  1  trace  my 
freshness  and  freedom  from  lassitude  at  Blairmore  to  the 
fact  that  the  windows  could  not  be  shut  down  by  persons 
afi-aid  of  draughts,  and  that  the  roof  was  as  high  as  the 
heavens  are  'above  the  earth.  My  conviction  is  that  a 
man  could  preach  three  or  four  times  on  a  Sabbath  out 
of  doors  with  less  fatigue  than  would  be  occasioned  by 
one  discourse  delivered  in  an  impure  atmosphere,  heated 
and  poisoned  by  human  breath,  and  carefully  preserved 
from  every  refreshing  infusion  of  natural  aii'. 

Tents  are  bad — unutterably  bad:  far  worse  than  the 
worst  buildings.  I  think  a  tent  is  the  most  objection- 
able covering  for  a  preaching  place  that  was  ever  in- 


130  LECTURES   TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

vented.  I  am  glad  to  see  tents  used  in  London,  for  the 
very  worst  place  is  better  than  none,  and  because  tliey 
can  easily  be  moved  from  place  to  place,  and  are  not 
very  expensive;  but  still,  if  I  bad  my  choice  between 
having  nothing  at  all  and  having  a  tent,  I  should  prefer 
the  open  air  by  far.  Under  canvas  the  voice  is  dead- 
ened and  the  labor  of  speaking  greatly  increased.  The 
material  acts  as  a  wet  blanket  to  the  voice,  kills  its  reso- 
nance, and  prevents  its  travelling.  With  fearful  exer- 
tion, in  the  sweltering  air  generated  in  a  tent,  you  will 
be  more  likely  to  be  killed  than  to  be  heard.  You  must 
have  noticed  even  at  our  own  College  gatherings,  when 
we  number  only  some  two  hundred,  how  difficult  it  is  to 
hear  at  the  end  of  a  tent,  even  when  the  sides  are  open, 
and  the  air  is  pure.  PerhajDS  you  may  on  that  occasion 
attribute  this  fact  in  some  degree  to  a  want  of  attentive- 
ness  and  quietness  on  the  part  of  that  somewliat  jubilant 
congregation,  but  still  even  when  prayer  is  offered,  and 
all  is  hushed,  I  have  oliserved  a  great  want  of  travelling 
j:)0wer  in  the  best  voice  beneath  a  marquee. 

If  you  are  going  to  preach  in  the  oj^en  air  in  the  coun- 
try, you  will  perhaps  have  your  choice  of  a  spot  ivherein  to 
j)reach;  if  not,  of  course  you  must  have  what  you  can 
get,  and  you  must  in  faith  accej^t  it  as  the  very  best. 
Hobson's  choice  of  that  or  none  makes  the  matter 
simple,  and  saves  a  deal  of  debate.  Do  not  be  very 
squeamish.  If  there  should  hapjien  to  be  an  available 
meadow  hard  by  your  chapel,  select  it  because  it  will  be 
very  convenient  to  turn  into  the  meeting-house  should 
the  weather  jDrove  unsuitable,  or  if  you  wish  to  hold  a 
jn'ayer-meeting  or  an  after-meeting  at  the  close  of  your 
address.  It  is  well  to  preach  before  your  regular  ser- 
vices on  a  sjiot  near  your  place  of  worship,  so  as  to 
march  the  crowd  right   into  the  building  before  they 


OPEN  AIR  PREACHING — REMARKS  THEREON.   131 

know  wliat  they  are  about.  Half-an-hour's  out-of-doors 
speaking  and  singing  before  your  ordinaiy  hour  of  as- 
sembly will  often  fill  an  empty  house.  At  the  same  time, 
do  not  always  adhere  to  near  and  handy  spots,  but 
choose  a  locality  for  the  very  opposite  reason,  because  it 
is  far  away  from  any  place  of  worship  and  altogether  ne- 
glected. Hang  up  the  lamps  wherever  there  is  a  dark 
corner;  the  darker  the  more  need  of  light.  Paradise 
Row  and  Pleasant  Place  are  generally  the  least  paradis- 
aical and  the  most  unpleasant :  thither  let  your  steps  be 
turned.  Let  the  dv/ellers  in  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
death  perceive  that  light  has  sprung  up  for  them. 

I  have  somewhere  met  with  the  recommendation  al- 
ways to  preach  with  a  wall  behind  you,  but  against  that 
I  respectfully  enter  my  caveat.  Have  a  care  of  what  may 
be  on  the  other  side  of  the  wall !  One  evangehst  received 
a  can  of  scalding  water  from  over  a  wall  with  the  kindly 
remark,  "There's  soup  for  Protestants! "  and  another  was 
favored  with  most  unsavory  bespatterings  from  a  vessel 
emptied  from  above.  Gideon  Ousety  began  to  preach  in 
Koscommon  with  his  back  against  the  gable  of  a  tobacco 
factory  in  which  there  was  a  window  with  a  wooden 
door,  through  which  goods  were  hoisted  into  the  loft. 
Would  you  be  sui-prised  to  learn  that  the  window  sud- 
denly ojDened,  and  that  from  it  descended  a  pailful  of 
tobacco  water,  an  acrid  fluid  most  painful  to  the  eyes  ? 

The  preacher  in  after  years  knew  better  than  to  put 
himself  in  such  a  tempting  position.  Let  his  experience 
instruct  you. 

If  I  had  my  choice  of  a  pitch  for  preaching,  I  should 
prefer  to  front  a  rising  ground,  or  an  open  spot  bounded 
at  some  little  distance  by  a  wall.  Of  course  there  must 
be  sufficient  space  to  allow  of  the  congregation  assem- 
bling between  the  pulpit  and   the   bounding   object  in 


132  LECTUEES  TO  MY  STUDENTS. 

front,  but  I  like  to  see  an  end,  and  not  to  sliout  into 
boundless  space.  I  do  not  know  a  prettier  site  for  a 
sermon  than  that  which  I  occujiied  in  my  friend  Mr. 
Duncan's  grounds  at  Benmore.  It  was  a  level  sweep  of 
lawn,  backed  by  rising  terraces  covered  with  fir-trees. 
The  people  could  either  occupy  the  seats  below,  or  drop 
down  upon  the  grassy  banks,  as  best  comported  with 
their  comfort,  and  thus  I  had  part  of  my  congregation  in 
rising  galleries  above  me,  and  the  rest  in  the  area 
around  me.  My  voice  readily  ascended  and  I  conceive 
that  if  the  people  had  been  seated  up  the  hill  for  half-a- 
mile  they  would  have  been  able  to  hear  me  with  ease.  I 
should  suppose  that  Wesley's  favorite  sj)ot  at  Gwennaj) 
Pit  must  must  be  somewhat  alter  the  same  order.  Am- 
phitheatres and  hill-sides  are  always  favorite  sjDots  with 
preachers  in  the  fields,  and  their  advantages  will  be  at 
once  evident  to  you. 

My  friend  Mr.  Abraham  once  produced  for  me  a 
grand  cathedral  in  Oxfordshire.  The  remains  of  it  are 
still  called  "  SjDurgeon's  Tabernacle,"  and  may  be  seen 
near  Minster  Lovell,  in  the  form  of  a  quadrilateral  of 
oaks.  Originally  it  was  the  heau  ideal  of  a  preaching 
place,  for  it  was  a  cleared  spot  in  the  thick  forest  of 
Witchwood,  and  was  reached  hj  roads  cut  through  the 
dense  underwood.  I  shall  never  forget  those  "  alleys 
green,"  and  the  verdant  walls  which  shut  them  in. 
When  you  reached  the  inner  temple  it  consisted  of  a 
large  square,  out  of  which  the  underwood  and  smaller 
trees  had  been  cut  away,  while  a  sufiicient  number  of 
young  oaks  had  been  left  to  rise  to  a  considei'able 
height,  and  then  overshadow  us  with  their  branches. 
Here  was  a  truely  magnificent  cathedral,  with  2:)illars 
and  arches :  a  temple  not  made  with  hands,  of  which  we 
might  truly  say, 


OPEN  AIK  PEEACHING— EEMAEKS  THEEEON.   133 

"Father,  thy  hand 
Hath  reared  tliese  venerable  coliiiuus,  thoii 
Didst  weave  tliis  verdant  roof." 

I  have  never,  either  at  home  or  on  the  Continent, 
seen  aschitecture  which  could  rival  my  cathedral.  "  Lo, 
we  heard  of  it  at  Ephratah:  we  found  it  in  the  fields  of 
the  wood."  The  blue  sky  was  visible  through  ou.r  clere- 
story, and  from  the  great  window  at  the  fvirther  end 
£he  sun  smiled  upon  us  toward  evening.  Oh,  sirs,  it 
was  grand  indeed,  to  worship  thus  beneath  the  vaulted 
firmament,  beyond  the  sound  of  city  hum,  where  all 
around  ministered  to  quiet  fellowship  with  God.  That 
spot  is  now  cleared,  and  the  place  of  our  assembly  has 
been  selected  at  a  little  distance  from  it.  It  is  of  much 
the  same  character,  only  that  my  boundary  walls  of 
forest  growth  have  disaj^peared  to  give  place  to  an  open 
expanse  of  ploughed  fields.  Only  the  pillars  and  the 
roof  of  my  temple  remain,  but  I  am  still  glad,  like  the 
Druids,  to  worshij)  among  the  oak  trees.  This  year  a 
dove  had  built  her  nest  just  above  my  head,  and  she 
continued  flying  to  and  fro  to  feed  her  young,  while  the 
sermon  proceeded.  Why  not?  Where  should  she  be 
more  at  home  than  where  the  Lord  of  love  and  Prince 
of  Peace  was  adored  ?  It  is  true  my  arched  cathedral  is 
not  wateri)roof,  and  other  showers  besides  those  of 
grace  will  descend  upon  the  congregation,  but  this  has 
its  advantages,  for  it  makes  us  the  more  grateful  when 
the  day  is  propitious,  and  the  very  precariousness  of  the 
weather  excites  a  large  amount  of  earnest  prayer. 

I  once  preached  a  sermon  in  the  open  air  in  haying 
time,  during  a  violent  storm  of  rain. .  The  text  was,  "  He 
shall  come  down  like  rain  upon  the  mown  grass,  as 
showers  that  water  the  earth,"  and  surely  we  had  the 


134  LECTURES    TO    MY    STUDENTS. 

blessing-  as  well  as  the  inconvenience.  I  was  sufficient!}' 
wet  and  my  congregation  must  have  been  drenched,  but 
they  stood  it  out,  and  I  never  heard  that  an^'body  was 
the  worse  in  health,  though,  I  thank  God,  I  have  heard 
of  souls  brought  to  Jesus  under  that  discourse.  Once 
in  a  while,  and  under  strong  excitement,  such  things  do 
no  one  any  harm,  but  we  are  not  to  expect  miracles,  nor 
wantonly  venture'  upon  a  course  of  procedure  which 
might  kill  the  sickly  and  lay  the  foundations  of  disease 
in  the  strong. 

I  remember  well  preaching  between  Cheddar  Cliffs. 
What  a  noble  position!  "What  beauty  and  sublimit}! 
But  there  was  great  danger  from  falling  pieces  of  stone, 
moved  by  the  jDCojole  who  sat  upon  the  higher  portions 
of  the  cliff,  and  hence  I  would  not  choose  the  spot  again. 
We  must  studiously  avoid  positions  where  serious  acci- 
dent might  be  possible.  An  injured  head  qualifies  no 
one  for  enjoying  the  beauties  of  nature,  or  the  consola- 
tions of  grace.  Concluding  a  discourse  in  that  jjlace,  I 
called  ujDon  those  mighty  rocks  to  bear  witness  that  I 
had  jjreached  the  gospel  to  the  people,  and  to  be  a  testi- 
mony against  them  at  the  last  great  day,  if  they  rejected 
the  message.  Only  the  other  day  I  heard  of  a  person 
to  whom  that  aj^jDeal  was  made  useful  by  the  Holy  Sj^irit. 

Look  well  to  the  ground  you  select,  that  it  is  not 
swampy.  I  never  like  to  see  a  man  slip  up  to  his 
knees  in  mire  while  I  am  preaching.  Kushy  places  are 
often  so  smooth  and  green  that  we  select  them  without 
noting  that  they  are  apt  to  be  muddy,  and  to  give  our 
healrers  wet  feet.  Always  inconvenience  yourself  rather 
than  your  audience:  3'our  Master  would  have  done  so. 
Even  in  the  streets  of  London  a  concern  for  the  conven- 
ience of  your  hearers  is  one  of  the  things  which  concili- 
ates a  crowd  more  than  anything. 


OPEN  AIR  PREACHING REMARKS  THEREON.   135 

Avoid  as  3'our  worst  enemy  the  neighborliood  of  the 
Normandy  poplar.  Tliese  trees  cause  a  perj^etaal  hiss- 
ing and  rustUng  sound,  ahnost  like  the  noise  of  the  sea. 
Every  leaf  of  certain  kinds  of  jjoplar  is  in  perj^etual  mo- 
tion, like  the  tongue  of  Talkative.  The  noise  may  not 
seem  very  loud,  but  it  will  drown  the  best  of  voices. 
"  The  sound  of  a  going  in  the  tops  of  the  mulberry 
trees "  is  all  very  Avell,  but  keep  clear  of  the  noise  of 
poplars  and  some  other  trees,  or  yovi  will  suffer  for  it.  I 
have  had  painful  experience  of  this  misery'.  The  old 
serpent  himself  seemed  to  hiss  at  me  out  of  those  un- 
quiet boughs. 

Practised  preachers  do  not  care  to  have  the  sun 
directly  in  their  faces  if  they  can  help  it,  neither  do  they 
wish  their  hearers  to  be  distressed  in  like  manner,  and 
therefore  they  take  this  item  into  consideration  when  ar- 
ranging for  a  service.  In  London  we  do  not  see  that* 
luminary  often  enough  to  be  much  concerned  upon  this 
point. 

Do  not  try  to  preach  against  the  wind,  for  it  is  an  idle 
attempt.  You  may  hurl  your  voice  a  short  distance  by 
an  amazing  effort,  but  you  cannot  be  well  heard  even  by 
the  few.  I  do  not  often  advise  you  to  consider  which 
way  the  wind  blows,  but  on  this  occasion  I  urge  you  to 
do  it,  or  you  will  labor  in  vain.  Preach  so  that  the  wind 
carries  your  voice  towards  the  people,  and  does  not  blow 
it  down  your  throat,  or  you  will  have  to  eat  your  own 
words.  There  is  no  telling  how  far  a  man  may  be  heard 
ivith  tJie  ivind.  In  certain  atmospheres  and  climates,  as 
for  instance  in  that  of  Palestine,  persons  might  be  heard 
for  several  miles;  and  single  sentences  of  well-known 
speech  may  in  England  be  recognized  a  long  way  off, 
but  I  should  gravely  doubt  a  man  if  he  asserted  that  he 
understood  a  new  sentence  beyond  the  distance  of  a 


13G  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

mile.  Whitfield  is  reported  to  have  been  heard  a  mile, 
and  I  have  been  myself  assured  that  I  was  heard  for 
that  distance,  but  I  am  somewhat  sceptical.*  Half-a- 
mile  is  surely  enough,  even  with  the  wind,  but  you  must 
make  sure  of  that  to  be  heard  at  all. 

In  the  country  it  ought  to  be  easy  to  find  a  fit  jAace 
for  j)reaching.  One  of  the  earliest  things  that  a  miuister 
should  do  when  he  leaves  College  and  settles  in  a  coun- 
try town  or  village  is  to  begin  open  air  speaking.  He 
will  generally  have  no  difficulty  as  to  the  jDosition;  the 
land  is  before  him  and  he  may  choose  according  to  his 
own  sweet  will.  The  market-cross  will  be  a  good  begin- 
ning, then  the  head  of  a  court  crowded  with  the  i:»oor, 
and  next  the  favorite  corner  of  the  idlers  pf  the  parish. 
Cheap-Jack's  stand  will  make  a  capital  pulpit  on  Sunday 
night  during  the  village  fair,  and  a  wagon  will  serve  well 
Ion  the  green,  or  in  a  field  at  a  little  distance,  during  the 
week-day  evenings  of  the  rustic  festival.  A  cajoital  place 
for  an  alfresco  discourse  is  the  green  where  the  old  elm 
trees,  felled  long  ago,  are  still  lying  in  reserve  as  if  they 

*  From  "Chambers'  Book  of  Days"  we  borrow  the  following 
note: — "Mrs.  Oliphant,  in  her  'Life  of  the  Rev.  Edward  Ir- 
ving,'states  that  he  liad  been  on  some  occasions  clearly  lieanl 
at  the  distance  of  half-a-mile.  It  Ijas  been  alleged,  however, 
that  Black  John  Knssell,  of  Kilmarnock,  celelnated  by  Burns  in 
no  gracious  terms,  was  heard,  though  not  perhaps  intelligibly, 
at  the  distance  of  a  full  mile.  It  would  appear  tliat  even  this  is 
not  the  utmost  stretch  of  the  phenomenon.  A  correspondent  of 
the  Jamcson^s  Journal,  in  1828,  states  that,  being  at  the  west  end 
of  Dumferline,  he  overheard  part  of  a  sermon  then  deliverijig  at 
a  tent  at  Cairneyhill  by  Dr.  Black :  he  did  not  miss  a  word, 
'  thougl)  the  distance  must  be  something  about  two  miles;'  the 
preacher  has,  perhaps,  seldom  been  surpassed  for  distinct  speak- 
ing and  a  clear  voice:  'and  the  wind,  which  was  steady  and 
moderate,  came  in  the  direction  of  the  sound.' " 


OPEN   AIR   PEEACHING REMARKS   THEREON.       137 

were  meant  to  be  seats  for  your  congregation;  so  also  is 
the  burial  ground  of  the  meeting-bouse  where  "  the  rude 
forefathers  of  the  hamlet  sleep."  Consecrate  it  to  the 
living  and  let  the  people  enjoy  "  Meditations  among  the 
Tombs."  '^lake  no  excuses,  then,  but  get  to  work  at 
once. 

In  London,  or  any  other  large  town,  it  is  a  great  thing 
to  find  a  vacant  spot  where  you  can  obtain  a  right  to 
hold  services  at  your  pleasure.  If  you  can  discover  a 
piece  of  ground  which  is  not  yet  built  over,  and  if  you 
can  obtain  the  use  of  it  from  the  owner  till  he  covers  it, 
it  will  be  a  great  acquisition,  and  worth  a  shght  expense 
in  fencing;  for  you  are  then  king  of  the  castle  and  dis- 
turbers will  be  trespassers.  I  suppose  that  such  a  spot 
is  not  often  obtainable,  esj)eciaUy  by  persons  who  have 
no  money ;  but  it  is  worth  thinking  about.  It  is  a  great 
gain  when  your  place  of  worship  has  even  a  small  out- 
side space,  like  that  at  Surrey  Chapel,  or  upon  the  Tab- 
ernacle steps;  for  here  you  are  beyond  the  interference 
of  the  police  or  drunken  men.  If  we  have  none  of  these, 
we  must  find  street  corners,  triangles,  quiet  nooks,  and 
wide  spaces  wherein  to  proclaim  the  gospel.  Years  ago 
I  preached  to  enormous  assemblies  in  King  Edward's 
Road,  Hackney,  which  was  then  open  fields,  but  now  not 
a  spare  yard  remains.  On  those  occasions  the  rush  was 
perilous  to  life  and  limb,  and  there  seemed  no  limit  to 
the  throngs.  Half  the  number  would  have  been  safer. 
That  open  space  has  vanished,  and  it  is  the  same  with 
fields  at  Brixton,  where  in  years  gone  by  it  was  delight- 
ful to  see  the  assembled  crowds  listening  to  the  word. 
Burdened  with  the  rare  trouble  of  drawing  too  many 
together,  I  have  been  compelled  to  abstain  from  these 
exercises  in  Loudon,  biit  not  from  any  lessened  sense  of 
their  importance.     With  the  Tabernacle   always  full  I 


138  LECTUltES  io  My   STUDElsrttj. 

iiave  as  large  a  congregation  as  I  desire  at  home,  and 
therefore  do  not  preach  outside,  excej)t  in  the  country; 
but  for  those  ministers  whose  area  under  cover  is  but 
small,  and  whose  congregations  are  thin,  the  ^oen  air  is 
the  remedy,  whether  in  London  or  in  the  provinces. 

In  raising  a  new  interest,  and  in  mission  operations, 
out  of  door  services  are  a  main  agency.  Get  the  people 
to  listen  outside  that  they  may  by-and-by  worshi})  inside. 
You  want  no  pulpit;  a  chair  will  do,  or  the  curb  of  the 
road.  The  less  formality  the  better,  and  if  you  begin  by 
merely  talking  to  the  two  or  three  around  you  and  make 
no  pretence  of  sermonizing,  you  will  do  well.  More  good 
may  be  done  by  personal  talk  to  one  than  by  a  rhetorical 
address  to  fifty.  Do  not  purposely  interfere  with  the 
thoroughfare,  but  if  the  crowd  should  accumulate  do  not 
hasten  away  in  sheer  fright:  the  policeman  will  let  you 
know  soon  enough.  You  are  most  wanted,  however, 
where  you  will  be  in  no  danger  of  impeding  passers-by, 
but  far  more  likely  to  be  in  danger  yourself — I  refer  to 
those  central  courts  and  blind  alleys  in  our  great  cities 
which  lie  out  of  the  route  of  decency,  and  are  known  to 
nobody  but  the  police,  and  to  them  principally  through 
bruises  and  wounds.  Talk  of  discovering  the  interior  of 
Africa,  we  need  explorers  for  Fryingpan  Alley  and  Emer- 
ald-Island Court:  the  Arctic  regions  are  well  nigh  as  ac- 
cessible as  Dobinson's  Rents  and  Jack  Ketch's  Warren. 
Heroes  of  the  cross — here  is  a  field  for  you  more  glorious 
than  the  Cid  ever  beheld  when  with  his  brave  right  arm 
he  smote  the  Paynim  hosts.  "Who  will  bring  me  into 
the  strong  city  ?  Who  will  lead  me  into  Edom  ?  "  Who 
will  enable  us  to  win  these  slums  and  dens  for  Jesus  ? 
Who  can  do  it  but  the  Lord  ?  Soldiers  of  Christ  who  ven- 
ture into  these  regions  must  expect  a  revival  of  the  j^rac- 
tices  of  the  good  old  times,  so  far  as  brickbats  are  con- 


6PEN   air    preaching — REMARKS    THEREON.       130 

cerned,  and  I  have  known  a  flower-pot  fall  accidentally 
from  an  upper  window  in  a  remarkably  slanting  direction. 
Still,  if  we  are  born  to  be  drowned  we  sbaU  not  be  killed 
by  flower-pots.  Under  such  treatment  it  may  be  refresh- 
ing to  read  what  Christopher  HojDper  wrote  under  similar 
conditions  more  than  a  hundred  years  ago.  "  I  did  not 
much  regard  a  little  dirt,  a  few  rotten  eggs,  the  sound  of 
a  cow's  horn,  the  noise  of  bells,  or  a  few  snowballs  in 
theii"  season;  but  sometimes  I  w'as  saluted  with  blows, 
stones,  brickbats,  and  bludgeons.  These  I  did  not  well 
like:  they  were  not  pleasing  to  flesh  and  blood.  I  some- 
times lost  a  little  skin,  and  once  a  little  blood,  wdiicli  was 
drawn  from  my  forehead  with  a  sharp  stone.  I  wore  a 
patch  for  a  few  days,  and  was  not  asliamed;  I  gloried  in 
the  cross.  And  when  my  small  sufferings  abounded  for 
the  sake  of  Christ,  my  comfort  abounded  much  more.  I 
never  was  more  happ}^  in  my  own  soul,,  or  blessed  in  my 
labors." 

I  am  somewhat  j)leased  when  I  occasionally  hear  of  a 
brother's  being  locked  up  b}'  the  police,  for  it  does  him 
good,  and  it  does  the  people  good  also.  It  is  a  fine  sight 
to  see  the  minister  of  the  gosj)el  marched  off  by  the  ser- 
vant of  the  law !  It  excites  sympathy  for  him,  and  the 
next  step  is  sympathy  for  his  message.  jMany  who  felt 
no  interest  in  him  before  are  eager  to  hear  him  when  he 
is  ordered  to  leave  off,  and  still  more  so  when  he  is  taken 
to  the  station.  The  vilest  of  mankind  respect  a  man  who 
gets  into  trouble  in  order  to  do  them  good,  and  if  they 
see  unfair  opposition  excited  they  grow  quite  zealous  in 
the  man's  defence. 

I  am  persuaded  that  the  more  of  open  air  preaching 
there  is  in  London  the  better.  If  it  should  become  a 
nuisance  to  some  it  will  be  a  blessing  to  others,  if  proper- 
ly conducted.     If  it  be  the  gospel  which  is  spoken,  and 


140  LECTURES    TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

if  the  spirit  of  tlie  preacher  be  one  of  love  and  truth,  the 
results  cannot  be  doubted:  the  bread  cast  ttjjon  the  waters 
must  be  found  again  after  many  days.  The  gospel  must, 
however,  be  preached  in  a  manner  worth  the  hearing,  for 
mere  noisemaking  is  an  evil  rather  then  a  benefit.  I 
know  a  family  almost  driven  out  of  their  senses  by  the  hide- 
ous shouting  of  monotonous  exhortations,  and  the  howling 
of  "  Safe  in  the  arms  of  Jesus  "  near  their  door  every  8ab- 
batli  afternoon  by  the  year  together.  The}-  are  zealous 
Christians,  and  would  willingly  help  their  tormentors  if 
they  saw  the  slightest  probability  of  usefulness  from  the 
violent  bawling:  but  as  they  seldom  see  a  hearer,  and  do 
not  think  that  what  is  spoken  would  do  any  good  if  it 
w^ere  heard,  they  comjjlain  that  they  are  compelled  to 
lose  their  few  hours  of  quiet  because  two  good  men  think 
it  their  duty  to  perform  a  noisy  but  perfectly'  useless  ser- 
vice. I  once  saw  a  man  preaching  with  no  hearer  but  a 
dog  which  sat  upon  its  tail  and  looked  up  very  reverently 
while  its  master  orated.  There  were  no  peojile  at  the 
windows  nor  passing  by,  but  the  brother  and  his  dog  were 
at  their  piost  whether  the  peojile  would  hear  or  whether 
they  would  forbear.  Once  also  I  jiassed  an  earnest 
declaimer,  whose  hat  was  on  the  ground  before  him,  filled 
with  papers,  and  there  was  no'c  even  a  dog  for  an  audience, 
nor  any  one  within  hearing,  yet  did  he  "  waste  his  sweet- 
ness on  the  desert  air."  I  hojie  it  relieved  his  own  mind. 
Really  it  must  be  viewed  as  an  essential  part  of  a  ser- 
mon that  somebody  should  hear  it:  it  cannot  be  a  great 
benefit  to  the  world  to  have  sermons  iweachod  in  rriciio. 
As  to  sf)jle  in  prcacMng  out  of  doors,  it  should  certainly 
be  very  different  from  much  of  that  which  prevails 
within,  and  perhaps  if  a  speaker  were  to  acquire  a  style 
fully  adapted  to  a  street  audience,  he  ■jvould  bo  wise  to 
bring  it  indoors  with  him.     A  great  deal  of  sermoniziner 


OPES"   AIE    PEEACHIXG E,EMAEKS    THEEEON.        14  i 

may  be  defined  as  saying  nothing  at  extreme  length  ;  bvit 
out  of  doors  verbosity  is  not  admired  ;  you  must  say 
something  and  have  done  with  it  and  go  on  to  say  some- 
thing more,  or  your  hearers  wiU  let  you  know.  "  Now 
then,"  cries  a  street  critic,  "let  us  have  it,  old  fellow." 
Or  else  the  observation  is  made,  "Now  then,  pitch  it 
out !  You'd  better  go  home  and  learn  your  lesson." 
"  Cut  it  short,  old  boy,"  is  a  ver}'  common  admonition, 
and  I  wish  the  presenters  of  this  advice  gratis  could  let 
it  be  heard  inside  Ebenezer  and  Zoar  and  some  other 
places  sacred  to  long-winded  orations.  Where  these 
outspoken  criticisms  are  not  employed,  the  hearers  re- 
buke prosiness  by  quietly  walking  away.  Very  unpleas- 
ant this,  to  find  your  congregation  dispersing,  but  a 
very  plain  intimation  that  your  ideas  are  also  much  dis- 
persed. 

In  the  street,  a  man  must  keep  himself  alive,  and  use 
many  illustrations  and  anecdotes,  and  sprinkle  a  quaint 
remark  here  and  there.  To  dwell  long  on  a  point  will 
never  do.  Reasoning  must  be  brief,  clear,  and  soon 
done  with.  The  discourse  must  not  be  labored  or  in- 
volved, neither  must  the  second  head  depend  upon  the 
first,  for  the  audience  is  a  changing  one,  and  each  point 
must  be  complete  in  itseK.  The  chain  of  thought  must 
be  taken  to  pieces,  and  each  link  melted  down  and 
turned  into  bullets  :  you  will  need  not  so  much  Saladin's 
sabre  to  cut  through  a  mushn  handkerchief  as  Cceur  de 
Lion's  battle-axe  to  break  a  bar  of  iron.  Come  to  the 
point  at  once,  and  come  there  with  aU  your  might. 

Short  sentences  of  words  and  short  passages  of 
thought  are  needed  for  out  of  doors.  Long  paragraphs 
and  long  arguments  had  better  be  reserved  for  other 
occasions.  In  quiet  country  crowds  there  is  much  force 
in  an  eloquent  silence,  now  and  then  interjected  ;  it  gives 


142  LECTUEES  TO  MY  STUDENTS. 

people  time  to  breathe,  and  also  to  reflect.  Do  not,  how- 
ever, attemjDt  this  in  a  London  street  ;  you  must  go 
ahead,  or  some  one  else  may  run  ofi'  with  your  congre- 
gation. In  a  regular  field  sermon  jDauses  are  very 
effective,  and  aj-e  useful  in  several  ways,  both  to  speaker 
and  listeners,  but  to  a  passing  company  who  are  not 
inclined  for  anything  like  worship,  quick,  short,  sharp 
address  is  most  adaj)ted. 

In  the  streets  a  man  must  from  beginning  to  end  be 
intense,  and  for  that  very  reason  he  must  be  condensed 
and  concentrated  in  his  thought  and  utterance.  It 
would  never  do  to  begin  by  saying,  "My  text,  dear 
friends,  is  a  passage  from  the  insjDired  word,  containing 
doctrines  of  the  utmost  importance,  and  bringing  before 
us  in  the  clearest  manner  the  most  valuable  practical 
instruction.  I  invite  your  careful  attention  and  the  exer- 
cise of  your  most  candid  judgment  while  we  consider  it 
under  various  aspects  and  place  it  in  different  lights,  in 
order  that  we  may  be  able  to  perceive  its  position  in  the 
analogy  of  the  faith.  In  its  exegesis  we  shall  find  an 
arena  for  the  cultured  intellect,  and  the  refined  sensibih- 
ties.  As  the  jDvirling  brook  meanders  among  the  meads 
and  fertilizes  the  j^astures,  so  a  stream  of  sacred  truth 
flows  through  the  remarkable  words  which  now  he  be- 
fore us.  It  will  be  well  for  us  to  divert  the  crystal  cur- 
rent to  the  reservoir  of  our  meditation,  that  we  may 
quaff  the  cup  of  wisdom  with  the  lijDS  of  satisfaction.' 
There,  gentlemen,  is  not  that  ratlier  above  the  average 
of  wordsj^iuning,  and  is  not  the  art  very  generally  in 
vogue  in  these  days?  If  you  go  out  to  the  obehsk  in 
Blackfriars  Eoad,  and  talk  in  that  fashion,  you  wiU  be 
saluted  with  "Go  on,  old  buffer,"  or  ^'Aint  lie  fine? 
My  eye  !  "  A  very  vulgar  youth  will  cry,  "  AVliat  a  mouth 
for  a  tater !  '  and  another  wiU  shout  in  a  tone  of  mock 


OPEN  AIE  PREACHING REMARKS  THEREON.   143 

.  solemnity,  "  Amen  !  "  If  you  give  them  chaff  they  will 
cheerfixlly  return  it  into  your  own  bosom.  Good  meas- 
ure, pressed  down  and  running  over  will  they  mete  out 
to  you.  Shams  and  shows  wiU  have  no  mercy  from  a 
street  gathering.  But  have  something  to  say,  look  them 
in  the  face,  say  what  you  mean,  jjut  it  plainly,  boldly, 
earnestly,  courteously,  and  they  wiU  hear  you.  Never 
speak  against  tune  or  for  the  sake  of  hearing  your  own 
voice,  or  you  will  obtain  some  information  about  your 
personal  appearance  or  manner  of  oratory  which  will 
probably  be  more  true  than  pleasing.  "Crikey,"  says 
one,  "wouldn't  he  do  for  an  undertaker!  He'd  make 
'em  weep."  This  was  a  comj)hment  paid  to  a  melan- 
choly brother  whose  tone  is  pecuharly  funereal.  "  There, 
old  fellow,"  said  a  critic  on  another  occasion,  "  you  o-o 
and  wet  your  whistle.  You  must  feel  awfully  dry  after 
jawing  away  at  that  rate  about  nothing  at  all."  This 
also  was  specially  appropriate  to  a  very  heavy  brother  of 
whom  we  had  aforetime  remarked  that  he  would  make  a 
good  martyr,  for  there  was  no  doubt  of  his  burning  well, 
he  was  so  dry.  It  is  sad,  very  sad,  that  such  rude  re- 
marks should  be  made,  but  there  is  a  wicked  vein  in 
some  of  us,  which  makes  us  take  note  that  the  vulgar 
observations  are  often  very  true,  and  "  hold  as  '  twere  the 
mirror  up  to  nature."  As  caricature  often  gives  you  a 
more  vivid  idea  of  a  man  than  a  photograph  would  afford 
you,  so  do  these  rough  mob  critics  hit  off  an  orator  to 
the  life  by  their  exaggerated  censures.  The  very  best 
speaker  must  be  prepared  to  take  his  share  of  street  wit, 
and  to  return  it  if  need  be  ;  but  primness,  demureness^ 
formality,  sanctimonious  loug-windedness  and  the  affec- 
tion of  superiority,  actually  invite  offensive  pleasantries, 
and  to  a  considerable  extent  deserve  them.  Chadbaucl 
or  Stiggins  in  rusty  black,  with  j)lastered  hair  and  hu«e 


144  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

choker,  is  as  natural  an  object  of  derision  as  Mr.  Guido 
Fawkes  himself.  A  very  great  man  in  his  own  esteem 
will  provoke  immediate  oj^positiou,  and  the  affectation  of 
supernatural  saintliness  will  have  the  same  effect.  The 
less  you  are  like  a  parson  the  more  likely  you  are  to  be 
heard  ;  and,  if  you  are  known  to  be  a  minister,  the  more 
you  show  yourself  to  be  a  man  the  better.  "  What  do 
you  get  for  that,  governor  ?  "  is  sure  to  be  asked,  if  you 
appear  to  be  a  cleric,  and  it  will  be  well  to  tell  them  at 
once  that  this  is  extra,  that  you  are  doing  overtime,  and 
that  there  is  to  be  no  collection.  "  You'd  do  more  good 
if  you  gave  us  some  bread  or  a  drop  of  beer,  instead  of 
them  tracts,"  is  constantly  remarked,  but  a  manly  man- 
ner, and  the  outspoken  declaration  that  you  seek  no 
wages  but  their  good,  will  silence  that  stale  objection. 

The  action  of  the  street  preacher  should  be  of  the 
very  best.  It  should  be  purely  natural  and  uncon- 
strained. No  speaker  should  stand  up  in  the  street 
in  a  grotesque  manner,  or  he  will  weaken  himself  and 
invite  attack.  The  street  preacher  should  not  imitate  his 
own  minister,  or  the  crowd  will  spy  out  the  imitation 
very  speedily,  if  the  brother  is  anywhere  near  home. 
Neither  should  he  strike  an  attitude  as  little  boj'S  do 
who  say,  "  My  name  is  Norval."  The  stiff  straight  pos- 
ture with  the  regular  up  and  down  motion  of  arm  and 
hand  is  too  commonly  adoj^ted:  and  I  would  even  more 
condemn  the  wild-raving-maniac  action  which  some  are 
so  fond  of,  which  seems  to  be  a  cross  between  Whitefield 
with  both  his  arms  in  the  air,  and  Saint  George  with 
both  his  feet  violently  engaged  in  trampling  on  the 
dragon.  Some  good  men  are  grotesque  by  nature,  and 
others  take  great  pains  to  make  themselves  so.  The 
wicked  Londoners  say,  "  What  a  cure !  "  I  only  wish  I 
knew  of  a  cure  for  the  evil. 


OPEX  AIR  PEEACHING EEMARKS  THEEEOX.   145 

All  mauuerisms  should  be  avoided.  Just  now  I  ob- 
serve that  nothing  can  be  done  without  a  very  large 
Bagster's  Bible  with  a  limp  cover.  There  seems  to  be 
some  special  charm  about  the  large  size,  though  it  al- 
most needs  a  little  perambulator  in  which  to  push  it 
about.  With  such  a  Bible  full  of  ribbons,  select  a  stand- 
ing in  Seven  Dials,  after  the  pattern  of  a  divine  so 
graphically  described  by  Mr.  McCree.  Take  off  your 
hat,  put  your  Bible  in  it,  and  place  it  on  the  ground. 
Let  the  kind  friend  who  approaches  you  on  the 
right  hold  youi*  umbrella.  See  how  eager  the  dear 
man  is  to  do  so  !  Is  it  not  pleasing  ?  He  assures  you  he 
is  never  so  happy  as  when  he  is  helping  good  men  to  do 
good.  Now  close  your  eyes  in  prayer.  When  your  de- 
votions are  over  somehudy  will  have  jirofited  h>j  the  occasion. 
Where  is  your  affectionate  fi'iend  who  held  youi'  um- 
brella and  your  hymn-book?  Where  is  that  well- 
brushed  hat,  and  that  orthodox  Bagster  ?  Where  ?  oh, 
where  ?     Echo  answers,  "  Where '?  " 

The  catastrophe  which  I  have  thus  described  suggests 
that  a  brother  had  better  accompany  you  in  joiu-  earlier 
ministries,  that  ono  may  watch  while  the  other  prays. 
If  a  number  of  friends  will  go  with  you  and  make  a  ring 
around  you  it  will  be  a  great  acquisition,  and  if  these  can 
sing  it  will  be  still  further  helpful.  The  friendly  com- 
pany will  attract  others,  will  help  to  secure  order,  and 
will  do  good  service  by  sounding  forth  sermons  in  song. 

It  wiU  be  very  desirable  to  speak  so  as  to  be  heard, 
but  there  is  no  use  in  incessant  bawling.  The  best 
street  preaching  is  not  that  which  is  done  at  the  top  of 
your  voice,  for  it  must  be  impossible  to  lay  the  proper 
emphasis  upon  telling  passages  when  aU  along  you  are 
shouting  with  aU  your  might.  When  there  are  no 
hearers  near  you,  and  yet  people  stand  upon  the  other 


146  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

side  of  the  road  and  listen,  would  it  not  be  as  well  to 
cross  over  and  so  save  a  little  of  the  strength  which  is 
now  wasted?  A  quiet,  penetrating,  conversational  style 
would  seem  to  be  the  most  telling.  Men  do  not  bawl 
and  halloa  when  they  are  pleading  in  deepest  earnest- 
ness; they  have  generally  at  such  times  less  wind  and  a 
little  more  rain:  less  rant  and  a  few  more  tears.  On,  on, 
on  with  one  monotonous  shout  and  you  will  weary 
everybody  and  wear  out  yourself.  Be  wise  now,  there- 
fore, O  ye  who  would  succeed  in  declaring  your  Master's 
message  among  the  multitude,  and  use  your  voices  as 
common  sense  would  dictate. 

In  a  tract  published  by  that  excellent  society  "  The 
Open  Air  Mission,"  I  notice  the  following 

QUALIFICATIONS    FOR    OPEN-AIIl    PREACHERS. 

1.  A  good  voice. 

2.  Naturalness  of  manner. 

3.  Self-possession. 

4  A  good  knowledge  of  Scripture  and  of  common 
things. 

5.  Ability  to  adapt  himself  to  any  congregation. 

6.  Good  illustrative  powers. 

7.  Zeal,  prudence,  and  common  sense. 

8.  A  large,  loving  heart. 

9.  Sincere  belief  in  all  he  says. 

10.  Entire  deijendence  on  the  Holy  Spirit  for  suc- 
cess. 

11.  A  close  walk  with  God  by  prayer. 

12.  A  consistent  walk  before  men  by  a  holy  life. 

If  any  man  has  all  these  qualifications,  the  Queen  h:ul 
better  make  a  bishop  of  him  at  once,  yet  there  is  none 
of  these  qualities  which  could  well  be  dispensed  with. 


OPEN  AIR  PREACHING REMARKS  THEREON.   147 

Interruptions  are  pretty  sure  to  occur  in  the  streets 
of  London.  At  certain  places  all  will  go  well  for  months, 
but  in  other  positions  the  fight  begins  as  soon  as  the 
speaker  opens  his  mouth.  There  are  seasons  of  opposi- 
tion: different  schools  of  adversaries  rise  and  fall,  and 
accordingly  there  is  disorder  or  quiet.  The  best  tack 
will  not  always  avail  to  prevent  disturbance;  when  men 
are  drunk  there  is  no  reasoning  with  them,  and  of  furi- 
ous Irish  Papists  we  may  say  much  the  same.  Little  is 
to  be  done  with  such  unless  the  crowd  around  will  co- 
operate, as  oftentimes  they  Avill,  in  removing  the  ob- 
structor. Certain  characters,  if  i\\e\  find  that  preaching- 
is  going  on,  will  interrupt  by  hook  or  by  crook.  They 
go  on  purpose,  and  if  answered  once  and  again  they  still 
persevere.  One  constant  rule  is  to  be  always  courteous 
and  good  temi^ered,  for  if  you  become  cross  or  angry  it 
is  all  over  with  you.  Another  rule  is  to  keep  to  your 
subject,  and  never  be  drawn  into  side  issues.  Preach 
Christ  or  nothing:  don't  dispute  or  discuss  except  with 
your  eye  on  the  cross.  If  driven  off  for  a  moment  al- 
ways be  on  the  watch  to  get  back  to  your  sole  topic. 
Tell  them  the  old,  old  story,  and  if  they  will  not  hear 
that,  move  on.  Yet  be  adroit,  and  take  them  with  guile. 
Seek  the  one  object  by  many  roads.  A  little  mother-wit 
is  often  the  best  resource  and  will  work  wonders  with  a 
crowd.  Bonliommk  is  the  next  best  thing  to  grace  on 
such  occasions.  A  brother  of  my  acquaintance  silenced 
a  violent  Romanist  by  offering  him  his  stand  and  re- 
questing him  to  preach.  The  man's  comrades  for  the 
very  fun  of  the  thing  urged  him  on,  but  as  he  declined, 
the  dog  in  the  manger  fable  was  narrated  and  the  dis- 
turber disappeared.  If  it  be  a  real  sceptic  who  is  assail- 
ing you  it  is  prudence  to  shun  debate  as  much  as  possi- 
ble, or  ask  him  questions  in  return,  for  your  business  is 


148  LECTURKS   TO   MT   STUDENTS. 

not  to  argue  but  to  proclaim  the  gospel.  Mr.  John 
McGrregor  says:  "  Sceptics  are  of  many  kinds.  Some  of 
them  ask  questions  to  get  answers,  and  others  put  diffi- 
culties to  puzzle  the  people.  An  honest  sceptic  said  to 
me  in  a  crowd  in  Hyde-park,  '  I  have  been  trying  to  be- 
lieve for  these  ten  years,  but  there  is  a  contradiction  I 
cannot  get  over,  and  it  is  this:  we  are  told  that  printing 
was  invented  not  five  hundred  years  ago,  and  yet  that 
the  Bible  is  five  thousand  3'ears  old,  and  I  cannot  for 
the  life  of  me  see  how  this  can  be.'  Nay !  the  crowd  did 
not  laugh  at  this  man.  Very  feiv  people  in  a  crowd  Mow 
much  more  than  he  did  about  the  Bible.  But  how  ^deeply 
they  drank  in  a  half-hour's  account  of  the  Scrij^ture 
manuscripts,  their  preservation,  their  translations  and 
versions,  their  dispersion  and  collection,  their  collation 
and  transmission,  and  the  overwhelming  evidence  of 
their  genuine  truth  !  " 

I  remember  an  infidel  on  Kennington  Common  being 
most  effectually  stopped.  He  continued  to  cry  up  the 
beauties  of  nature  and  the  works  of  nature  until  the 
preacher  asked  him  if  he  would  kindly  tell  them  what 
nature  was."  He  replied  that  "everybody  knew  what 
nature  was."  The  preacher  retorted,  "  Well,  then,  it 
will  be  all  the  easier  for  you  to  tell  us."  "Why,  nature — 
nature,"  he  said,  "  nature, — nature  is  nature."  Of 
course,  the  crowd  laughed  and  the  wise  man  subsided. 

Ignorance  when  it  is  allied  with  a  coarse,  voluble 
tongue  is  to  be  met  b}^  letting  it  have  ro])e  enough.  One 
fellow  wanted  to  know  "  how  Jacob  hwiv  that  Esau 
hated  him."  He  had  hold  of  the  wrong  end  of  tlie 
stick  that  time,  and  the  preacher  did  not  enlighten  him, 
or  he  would  have  set  him  up  with  ammunition  for  future 
encounters. 

Our  business  is  not  to  supply  men  with  arguments  by 


OPEii   AIR   PREACHING REMARKS   THEREON.        14'J 

informing  them  of  difficulties.  In  the  process  of  answer- 
ing thein  ministers  have  published  the  sentiments  of  in- 
fidels more  widely  than  the  infidels  themselves  could 
have  done.  Unbelievers  only  "glean  their  blunted 
shafts,  and  shoot  them  at  the  shield  of  truth  again." 
Our  object  is  not  to  conquer  them  in  logical  encounters, 
but  to  save  their  souls.  Real  difficulties  we  should  en- 
deavor to  meet,  and  hence  a  competent  knowledge  of 
the  evidences  is  most  desirable;  but  honest  objectors  are 
best  conversed  with  alone,  when  they  are  not  ashamed 
to  own  themselves, in  the  wrong,  aod  this  we  could  not 
expect  of  them  in  the  crowd.  Christ  is  to  be  preached 
whether  men  will  believe  in  him  or  no.  Our  own  expe- 
rience of  His  power  to  save  will  be  our  best  reasonmg, 
and  earnestness  our  best  rhetoric.  The  occasion  will 
frequently  suggest  the  fittest  thing  to  say,  and  we  may 
also  fall  back  on  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  will  teach  us  in  the 
self-same  hour  what  we  shall  speak. 

The  open-air  speaker's  calling  is  as  honorable  as  it  is 
arduous,  as  useful  as  it  is  laborious.  God  alone  can 
sustain  you  in  it,  but  with  Him  at  your  side  you  will 
have  nothing  to  fear.  If  ten  thousand  rebels  were  be- 
fore you  and  a  legion  of  devils  in  every  one  of  them,  you 
need  not  tremble.  More  is  he  that  is  for  you  than  all 
they  that  be  against  you. 

"  By  all  liell's  host  withstood, 
We  all  hell's  liost  o'ertlirow  ; 
Aud  couqnerhig  tlieni  through  Jesus'  hlood, 
We  still  to  conquer  go." 


LECTURE  VI. 

POSTUKE,  ACTION,  GESTUEE,  ETC. 

The  subjects  of  this  lecture  are  to  be  "  Posture,  Gest- 
ure, and  Action  in  tlie  Delivery  of  a  Sermon.^'  I  shall  not 
attempt  to  draw  any  hard  and  fast  line  of  division  be- 
tween the  one  and  the  other;  for  it  would  need  a  very 
highly  discriminating  mind  to  keep  them  separate;  in- 
deed, it  could  not  be  done  at  all,  for  they  naturally 
merge  into  each  other.  As  I  have,  after  a  fair  trial, 
found  it  imjDossible  to  keep  even  "  jDosture"  and  "  gest- 
ure" in  an  absolutely  unmingled  state  in  my  own  mind, 
I  have  allowed  them  to  run  together;  but  I  hope  that  no 
confusion  will  appear  in  the  result. 

The  sermon  itself  is  the  main  thing:  its  matter,  its  aim, 
and  the  spirit  in  which  it  is  brought  before  the  people, 
the  sacred  anointing  upon  the  preacher,  and  the  divine 
power  applying  the  truth  to  the  hearer: — these  are  in- 
finitely more  important  than  any  details  of  manner. 
Posture  and  action  are  comparatively  small  and  incon- 
siderable matters;  but  still  even  the  sandal  in  the  statue 
of  Minerva  should  be  correctly  carved,  and  in  the  service 
of  God  even  the  smallest  things  should  be  regarded  with 
holy  care.  Life  is  made  up  of  little  incidents,  and  suc- 
cess in  it  often  depends  upon  attention  to  minor  details. 
Small  flies  make  the  apothecary's  ointment  to  stink,  and 

150 


POSTURE,  actio:n',  gesture,  etc.  151 

little  foxes  spoil  the  vines,  aud  therefore  small  flies  and 
little  foxes  should  be  kept  out  of  our  ministry.  Doubt- 
less, faults  in  even  so  secondary  a  matter  as  posture  have 
j)rejudiced  men's  minds,  aud  so  injured  the  success  of 
what  wordd  otherwise  have  been  most  accei3table  min- 
istries. A  man  of  more  than  average  abihties  may,  by 
vidiculous  action,  be  thrown  into  the  rear  rank  and  kej)t 
there.  This  is  a  great  pity,  even  if  there  were  only  one 
such  case,  but  it  is  to  be  feared  that  many  are  injured 
by  the  same  cause.  Little  oddities  and  absurdities  of 
mode  and  gesture  which  wise  men  would  endeavor  not 
to  notice  are  not  overlooked  by  the  general  public;  in 
fact,  the  majority  of  hearers  fix  their  eyes  mainly  upon 
those  very  things,  while  those  who  come  to  scoff  observe 
nothing  else.  Persons  are  either  disgusted  or  diverted 
by  the  oddities  of  certain  preachers,  or  else  they  want 
an  excuse  for  inattention,  and  jump  at  this  convenient 
one :  there  can  be  no  reason  why  we  should  help  men  to 
resist  our  own  endeavors  for  their  good.  No  minister 
would  willingly  cultivate  a  habit  which  would  blunt  his 
arrows,  or  drift  them  aside  from  the  mark;  and  therefore, 
since  these  minor  matters  of  movement,  posture,  and 
gesture  may  have  that  effect,  you  will  give  them  your  im- 
mediate attention. 

We  very  readily  admit  that  action  in  jn-eaching  is  an 
affair  of  minor  consequence;  for  some  who  have  suc- 
ceeded in  the  highest  sense  have  been  exceedingly  faulty 
from  the  rhetorician's  point  of  view.  At  the  present 
moment  there  is  in  Boston,  U.  S.  A.,  a  preacher  of  the 
veiy  highest  order  of  power,  of  whom  a  friendly  critic 
writes:  "In  the  opening  sentences  one  or  the  other  of  his 
arms  shake  at  his  side  in  a  helpless  fashion,  as  if  it  were 
made  of  caudal  vertebrse  loosely  jointed.  He  soon  ex- 
hibits a  most  engaging  awkwardness,  waddling  about  in 


152  LECTUKES   TO   MT   STUDENTS. 

a  way  to  suggest  that  each  leg  is  shorter  than  the  other, 
and  shaking  his  head  and  shouklers  in  ungainly  em- 
phasis. He  raises  one  eyebrow  in  a  quite  impossible 
fashion.  No  one  else  can  squint  so."  This  is  an  instance 
of  mind  overcoming  matter,  and  the  excellence  of  the 
teaching  condoning  defects  in  utterance ;  but  it  would 
be  better  if  no  such  drawbacks  existed.  Are  not  apples 
of  gold  all  the  more  attractive  for  being  placed  in  baskets 
of  silver  ?  Why  should  powerful  teaching  be  associated 
with  waddling  and  squinting?  Still  it  is  evident  that 
proper  action  is,  to  say  the  least,  not  essential  to  success. 
Homer  would  appear  to  have  considered  the  entire  ab- 
sence of  gesture  to  be  no  detriment  to  eminent  power  in 
speech,  for  he  j^ictures  one  of  his  greatest  heroes  as  en- 
tirely abjuring  it,  though  not  without  some  sense  of  cen- 
sure from  his  audience. 

"  But  when  Ulysses  rose,  in  tlionglit  profound, 
His  modest  eyes  lio  fixed  upon  the  gronud: 
As  one  unskilled  or  dumb,  lie  seemed  to  stand, 
Nor  rais'd  his  liead,  nor  stretched  his  sceptred  hand. 
But  wlieu  he  speaks,  what  elocution  flows! 
Soft  as  the  fleeces  of  descending  snows, 
The  copious  accents  fall,  with  easy  art; 
Melting  they  fall,  and  sink  into  the  heart! 
Wondering  we  hear,  and,  fixed  in  deep  surprise, 
Our  ears  refute  the  censures  of  our  eyes." 

Nor  need  we  go  back  to  the  ancients  for  proof  that  an  ex- 
ceedingly quiet  action  may  be  connected  with  the  high- 
est power  of  eloquence,  for  several  instances  occur  to  us 
among  the  moderns.  One  may  suffice:  our  own  su- 
premely gifted  Robert  Hall  had  no  oratorical  action,  and 
scarcely  any  motion  in  the  pulpit,  except  an  occasional, 
lifting  or  waving  of  the  right  hand,  and  in  his  most  im- 
passioned moments  an  alternate  retreat  and  advance. 


POSTTJEE,    ACTION,    GESTURE,    ETC.  l63 

It  is  not  SO  ijiucli  iucuuibeut  upon  3'ou  to  acquire  riglit 
pulpit  action  as  it  is  to  get  rid  of  that   which    is    wrong 
11"  you    could    be    reduced   to   motionless    dummies,    it 
would   be  better  than  being  active  and    even    vigorous 
incarnations  of  the  grotesque,  as   some  of  our  brethren 
have  been.     Some  men  by  degrees  fall  into    a  suicidal 
style  of  preaching,   and   it  is  a  very  rare  thing  indeed  to 
see  a  man  escape  when  once  he  has  entangled  himself  in 
the  meshes  of  an   evil  mannerism.     No  one  likes  to  tell 
them  of  their  queer   antics,  and  so  they  are  unaware  of 
them;  but  it  is  surprising  that  their  wives  do  not  mimic 
them  in  private  and   laugh  them  out  of  then*  awkward- 
ness.    I  have  heard  of  a  brother  who  in  his  earlier  days 
was  most  acceptable,   but  who  afterwards  dropped  far 
behind  in  the  race   because  he  by  degrees  fell  into  bad 
habits:  he  spoke  with  a  discordant  whine,  assumed  most 
singular  attitudes.,   and  used   such  extraordinary  mouth- 
ings  that  people  could  not  hear  him   with  pleasure.     He 
developed  into  a  man  to  be  esteemed  and  honored,  but 
not   to  be  listened   to.     Excellent    Christian   men   have 
said  that  they  did  not  know  whether  to  laugh  or  to  cry 
when  they  were  hearing  him  preach;  they  felt  as  if  they 
must  laugh  at  the  bidding  of  nature,  and  then  they  felt 
that  they  ought  to   cr^^  from  the  impulse  of  grace  when 
they  saw  so  good  a  preacher  utterly  ruined  by  absurd 
affectations.    If  you  do  not  care  to  cultivate  proper  action, 
at  least  be  wise   enough  to  steer  clear  of  that  which  is 
grotesque  or  affected.     There  is  a  wide  range  between 
the  fop,  curling  and  perfuming  his  locks,  and   permitting 
one's  hair  to   hang  in  matted  masses  like  the  mane   of  a 
wild  beast.    We  should  never  advise  you  to  practise  post- 
ure before  a  glass,  nor  to  imitate  great  divines,    nor    to 
ape   the  fine  gentleman;  but  there  is  no   need,   on  the 
other  hand,  to  be  vulgar  or  absurd.     Postures  and  atti- 


154  LECTURES    TO    MT   STUDENTS. 

tildes  are  merely  a  small  part  of  the  dress  of  a  discourse, 
and  it  is  not  in  dress  that  the  substance  of  tlie  matter 
lies:  a  man  in  fustian  is  "a  man  for  a'  that,"  and  so  a 
sermon  which  is  oddly  delivered  may  be  a  good  sermon 
for  all  that;  but  still,  as  none  of  you  would  care  to  wear 
a  pauper's  suit  if  you  could  procure  better  raiment,  so 
you  should  not  be  so  slovenly  as  to  clothe  truth  like  a 
mendicant  when  you  might  array  her  as  a  prince's 
daughter. 

Some  men  are  naturally  vert/  awhward  in  their  licrsons  and 
movements.  I  supi^ose  we  must  blame  what  the  couutry- 
man  called  their  "broughtens  up."  The  rustic's  gait  is 
heavy,  and  his  walk  is  slouching.  You  can  see  that  his 
natural  habitat  is  a  ploughed  field.  On  the  jDavement  or 
the  carpet  he  is  suspicious  of  his  footing,  but  down  a 
muddy  lane,  with  a  mule's  burden  of  earth  on  each  boot, 
he  progresses  with  case,  if  not  with  elegance.  There  is 
a  lumiDishness  and  lubberliness  innate  in  the  elements  of 
some  men's  constitutions.  You  could  not  make  them 
elegant  if  you  braced  them  in  a  mortar  among  wheat 
with  a  pestle.  The  drill-sergeant  is  of  the  utmost  use  in 
our  schools,  and  those  parents  who  think  that  drill  exer- 
cise is  a  waste  of  time  are  very  much  mistaken.  There  is 
a  shajie  and  handiness,  a  general  propriety  of  form,  which 
the  human  bodj'  acquires  under  proper  drill  which  sel- 
dom comes  in  any  other  manner.  Drill  brings  a  man's 
shoulders  down,  keej)s  his  arms  from  excessive  swinging, 
expands  the  chest,  shows  him  what  to  do  with  his  hands, 
and,  in  a  word,  teaches  a  man  how  to  walk  uprightly,  and 
to  bring  himself  into  something  like  ship-shape,  without 
any  conscious  efibrt  to  do  so,  which  eifort  would  be  a 
sure  betrayal  of  his  awkwardness.  Very  spiritual  people 
will  think  me  trifling,  but  indeed  I  am  not.  I  hope  the 
day  will  come  when  it  will  be  looked  ux^on  as  an  essential 


POSTURE,    ACTION,    GESTURE,    ETC.  155 

part   of  educatiou  to  teacli  a  youug  man  liow  to  carry 
himself,  and  move  without  dumsiness. 

It  mny  happen  tliat  mt'kicard  gestures  arise  from  feeble  ut- 
terance^ and  a  nervous  consciousness  of  lack  of  power  in  tluit 
direction.  Certain  splendid  men  of  our  acquaintance  are 
so  modest  as  to  be  diffident,  and  hence  they  become  hes- 
itating in  speech,  and  disarranged  in  manner.  Perhaps 
no  more  notable  instance  of  this  can  be  mentioned  then 
the  late  beloved  Dr.  James  Hamilton.  He  was  the 
most  beautiful  and  chaste  of  speakers,  wdth  an  action 
painful  to  the  last  degree.  His  biographer  says: — "In 
mental  resources  and  acquirements  he  was  possessed  of 
great  wealth;  but  i^i  the  capacity  to  utter  his  thoughts, 
with  all  the  variation  of  tone  and  key  which  their  nature 
required,  yei  so  as  to  be  thoroughly  heard  in  a  great  edi- 
fice, he  was  far  less  gifted.  In  this  department,  accord- 
ingly, he  was  always  jiained  by  a  conscious  shortcoming 
from  his  own  ideal.  It  is  certain  that  lack  of  vocal  force, 
and  ready  control  over  his  intonations,  largely  detracted 
from  the  power  and  popularity  of  his  preaching.  In  del- 
icacy of  conception,  in  the  happy  choice  of  idioms,  in  the 
command  of  striking  and  original  imagery,  and  in  the 
glow  of  evangelical  fervor  that  pervaded  all,  he  had  few 
equals.  These  rare  qualities,  however,  were  shorn  of 
half  their  strength,  in  as  far  as  his  pubHc  preaching  was 
concerned,  by  the  necessity  under  which  he  constantly 
lay  of  straining  to  make  himself  audible,  by  standing  on 
his  tip  foes,  and  throicinr,  out  his  words  in  handfuls,  if  so  he 
they  might  reach  the  far- distant  aisles.  If  the  muscles  of  his 
chest  had  been  such  as  to  enable  him  to  stand  solidly  at 
ease,  while  his  lips  performed  the  task  of  articulation 
without  the  aid  of  auxiliary  blasts  from  over-inflated 
lungs,  James  Hamilton  would  certainly  have  been  fol- 
lowed by  great  crowds,  and  obtained  access  for  his  mes- 


156  LECTURES   TO   MY    STUDENTS. 

sage  to  a  wider  and  more  varied  circle.  But  we  do  not 
know  what  counterbalancing  evil  might  have  come  in 
along  with  such  external  success.  Although  with  all  his 
prayers  and  pains  this  thorn  was  still  left  in  the  flesh,  the 
grand  compensation  remained :  '  My  grace  is  sufficient  for 
thee;  m}^  strength  is  perfect  in  thy  weakness.'  AVhat  tal- 
ents the  Lord  saw  meet  to  bestow,  he  laid  out  with  mar- 
vellous skill  and  diligence  in  the  giver's  service,  and  if 
some  of  the  talents  were  withheld,  the  Withholder  knows 
why.  He  hath  done  all  things  well."  In  this  sentiment 
we  heartily  concur,  but  we  should  be  sorry  for  any  young 
man  to  submit  at  discretion  to  a  similar  defect,  and  ascribe 
it  to  the  hand  of  the  Lord.  Dr.  Hamilton  did  not  so. 
He  earnestly  endeavored  to  overcome  his  natural  disad- 
vantage, and  to  our  knowledge  took  lessons  of  more  then 
one  j)roiessor  of  elocution.  He  did  not  take  refuge  in 
the  sluggard's  j^lea,  but  labored  hard  to  master  the  diffi- 
cult}^, and  only  failed  because  it  was  a  physical  defect  be- 
yond all  remedy.  Let  us  wlierever  we  see  awkwardness, 
which  is  evidently  unavoidable,  take  little  or  no  notice  of 
it,  and  take  care  to  commend  the  brother  that  he  does  so 
well  under  the  circumstances;  counting  it  no  small  achieve- 
ment for  a  divine  to  cover  by  richness  of  thought  and  fit- 
ness of  language  the  ungainliness  of  his  outer  man,  thus 
making  the  soul  triumph  over  the  body.  Yet  should  we 
ourselves  be  afflicted  with  any  fault  of  manner,  let  us  re- 
solve to  overcome  it,  for  it  is  not  an  impossible  task. 
Edward  Irving  was  a  striking  instance  of  a  man's  power 
to  improve  himself  in  this  resj^ect.  At  first  Ids  manner 
was  awkward,  constrained,  and  unnatural;  but  by  dili- 
gent culture  his  attitude  and  action  were  made  to  be 
striking  aids  to  his  eloquence. 

Pulpits  have  imtch  to  am^arr for  in  hav'nig  made  Dioi  awJc- 
warcl     What  horrible  inventions  they  are !     If  we  could 


rOSTURE,    ACTION,    GESTTJIIE,    ETC. 


157 


once  aLolisli  tbem  we  might  say  concerning  them  as  Joshua 
did  concerning  Jericho — "Cursed  be  he  that  buildeth 
this  Jericho,"  for  the  old-fashioned  pulpit  has  been  a 
greater  curse  to  the  churches  than  is  at  first  sight  e\ident. 
No  barrister  would  ever  enter  a  pulpit  to  plead  a  case  to 
the  bar.  How  could  he  hope  to  succeed  while  buried 
alive  almost  up  to  his  shoulders?  The  client  would  be 
ruined  if  the  advocate  were  thus  imprisoned.  How 
manly,  how  commanding  is  the  attitude  in  which  Chrys- 
ostom  is  usually  represented !  Forgetting  his  robes  for 
the  moment  one  cannot  but  feel  that  such  a  natural  post- 
ure is  far  more  worthy  of  sublime  truth  than  that  of  a 
person  croucliing  over  a 
sheet  of  jjaper,  looking  up  / 
very  occasionally^  and  then  ^^ 
revealing  no  more  than  his  / 
head  and  shoulders.  Aus-  T| 
tin  in  his  Chironomia*  very  iJ 
properly  says,  "Freedom  1 
is  also  necessary  to  grace- 
fulness of  action.  No  gest-  \ 
ures  can  be  graceful  which  i  j 
are  either  confined  by  ex- 
ternal circumstances,  or  i 
restrained  by  the  mind.  >^ 
If  a  man  Avere  obliged  to 
address  an  assembly  from 
a  narrow  window,  through 
which  he  could  not  extend 


*  Cliironomia;  or,  a  Treatise  on  Rhetorical  Delivery:  compre- 
heiidiuc:  many  precepts,  both  ancient  and  modern,  for  the  jiroper 
regulation  of  the  Voice,  tlie  Countenance,  and  Gesture,  and  a 
uew  method  for  the  notation  thereof;  illustrated  by  many  figures. 
By  the  Kevereud  Gilbert  Austin,  A.M.    Loudon,  1806.  [Quarto.] 


158 


LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 


bis  arms  aud  his  head,  it  would  be  in  vain  for  him  to 
attempt  graceful  gesture.  Confinement  in  every  lesser 
degree  must  be  proportionally  injurious  to  grace;  thvis 
the  crowded  bar  is  injurious  to  the  action  of  the  advocate, 
and  the  enclosed  and  bolstered  pulpit,  which  often  cuts 
off  more  then  half  of  his  figure,  is  equally  injurious  to  the 
graceful  action  of  the  j^reacher.' 

The  late  Thomas  Binney  was  unable  to  endure  a  x)lat- 
form,  and  was  known  to  fetch  gowns  and  other  mate- 
rials to  hang  over  the  rails  of  an  oj^en  rostrum,  if  he  found 
himself  placed  in  one  •  this  must  have  arisen  solely  from 
the  force  of  habit,  for  there  can  be  no  real  advantage  in 
being  enclosed  in  a  wooden  pen.  This  feeling  will  no 
doubt  retain  the  close  j)ulpit  in  its  place  for  awhile  longer, 
but  in  ages  to  come  men  will  find  an  argument  for  the 
divinity  of  our  holy  faith  in  the  fact  that  it  survived  pvilpits. 
Mmisters  cannot  be  blamed  for  ungainly  postures  and 
attitudes  when  onJy  a  small  part  of  their  bodies  can  be 
seen  during  a  discourse.  If  it  was 
the  custom  to  preach  as  Paul  did  at 
Athens,  public  sj^eakers  would  be- 
come models  of  jDropriety,  but  when 
the  usual  method  is  modelled  upon 
our  woodcut  of  "The  Reverend 
Dr.  Paul  preaching  in  London  "  we 
cannot  marvel  if  the  ungainly  and 
the  grotesque  abound.  By  the  way, 
it  is  interesting  to  note  that  Raphael 
in  his  representation  of  Paul  at  Ath- 
ens evidently  had  in  his  mind  the 
apostle's  utterance,  "  God  dwelleth 
not  in  temples  made  with  hands, 
neither  is  worshipped  with  man's 
hands";    hence  he   dehneates  him 


PAUL    I'KIiACHl.NG    AT    ATHENS 
AFTER    KAl'HAEL 


POSTURE,    ACTION,    GESTURE,    ETC. 


159 


i 


as  lifting  liis  hands.  I  am  indebted  for  this  hint  to  G.  W 
Hervej',  M.A.,  who  has^written  a  very  able  and  compre- 
hensive "Sj'stem  of  Rhetoric."* 

Remarkable  are  the  forms  which  pulpits  have  assumed 
according  to  the  freaks  of  human  fanc}'  and  foll3^  Twenty 
years  ago  they  had  probably  reached  their  veiy  worst. 
What  could  have  been  their  design 
and  intent  it  would  be  hard  to  con- 
jecture. A  deep  wooden  pulpit  of 
the  old  sort  might  well  remind 
a  minister  of  his  mortality,  for  it 
is  nothing  but  a  coflfin  set  on  end: 
but  on  what  rational  ground  do 
we  bury  oui*  i:)astors  alive?  Many 
of  these  erections  resemble  bar- 
rels, others  are  of  the  fashion  of 
egg  cups  and  wine  glasses;  a  third 
class  were  evidently  modelled  after 
corn  bins  upon  four  legs;  and  yet 
a  fourth  variety  can  only  be  liken-  the  very  reverend  dr.  paul 
ed  to  swallows'  nests  stuck  upon  preaching  in  london- 
the  wall.  Some  of  them  are  so  high  as  to  turn  the  heads 
of  the  occupants  when  they  dare  to  peer  into  the  awful 
depths  below  them,  and  they  give  those  who  look  up  to 
the  elevated  preacher  for  any  length  of  time  a  crick  in 
the  neck.  I  have  felt  like  a  man  at  the  mast-head  while 
perched  aloft  in  these  "towers  of  the  flock."  These 
abominations  are  in  themselves  evils,  and  create  evils. 

While  I  am  upon  pulpits  I  will  make  a  digression,  and 
remark  for  the  benefit  of  deacons  and  church-wardens 
that  I  frequentlv  notice  in  pulpits   a  most  abominable 

*  A  Sy.stem  of  Chri.stinn  Rlietorir  for  the  T^so  of  Prenr]ioi\s  ainl 
other  Speakers.  By  George  VViufred  Hervey,  M.A.  Houlston 
and  Sous.  1873. 


100  LECTURES   TO    MY    STUDENTS. 

savor  of  gas,  which  evidently  arises  from  leakage  in  the 
gas-pijDes,  and  is  very  apt  to  make  a  preacher  feel  half 
intoxicated,  or  to  sicken  him.     We  ought  to  be  sj^ared 
this  infliction.     Frequently,  also,  a  large  lamp  is  placed 
close  to  each  side  of  the  minister's  head,  thus  cramj^iug  all 
his  movements  and  placing  him  between  two  fires.     If  an}^ 
complaints  are  made  of  the  hot-headednessof  our  ministers 
it  is  readily  to  be  accounted  for,  since  the  apparatiis  for 
the  jDuri^ose  is  arranged  with  great  care.     Only  the  other 
night  I  had  the  privilege,  when  I  sat  down  in  the  iJuljDit, 
to  feel  as  if  some  one  had  smitten  me  on  the  top  of  my 
head,  and  as  I  looked  u^d  there  was  an  enormous  argand 
burner  with  a  reflector  jDlaced  immediatelj^  above  me,  in 
order  to  throw  a  light  on  my  Bible :  a  very  considerate 
contrivance   no  doubt,  only  the  inventor  had  forgotten 
that  his  burners  were  pouring  down  a  terrific  heat  upon 
a  sensitive  brain.     One  has  no  desire  to  exj^erience  an 
artificial  C02(2J  de  sole II  Avhile  preaching;  if  we  must  suffer 
from  such  a  calamity  let  it  come  ujjon  us  during  our  holi- 
days, and  let  it  befall  us  from  the  sun  himself.     No  one  in 
erecting  a  pulpit  seems  to  think  of  the  preacher  as  a  man 
of  like  feelings  and  senses  with  other  people;  the  seat  upon 
which  you  are  to  rest  at  intervals  is  often  a  mere  ledge, 
and  the  door  handle  runs  into  the  small  of  your  back, 
while  when  you  stand  up  and  would  come  to  the  front 
there   is   often   a    curious    gutta-percha  bag  inteiposed 
between  you  and  your  pulpit.     This  gummy  depository 
is  charitably  intended  for  the  assistance  of  certain  deaf 
people,  who  are  I  hope  benefited ;  they  ought  to  be,  for 
every  evil  should  have  a  compensating  influence.     You 
cannot  bend  forward  without  forcing  this  contrivance  to 
close    up,    and    I  for    my    own    part  usually  deposit  my 
pocket-handkerchief  in  it,  which  causes  the  deaf  people 
to    take   the  ends  of    the    tubes  out  of  their  ears  and 


POSTUKE,    ACTION,    GESTUEE,    ETC.  161 

to   discover   that   they   hear   me   well   enough    without 
them. 

No  one  knows  the  discomfort  of  pulpits  except  the  man 
who  has  been  in  very  man}-,  and  found  each  one  worse 
than  the  last.  They  are  generally  so  deep  that  a  short 
person  like  myself  can  scarce^  see  over  the  top  of  them, 
and  when  I  ask  for  something  to  stand  upon  they  bring 
me  a  hassock.  Think  of  a  minister  of  the  gospel  poising 
himself  upon  a  hassock  while  he  is  preaching:  a  Boanerges 
and  a  Blondin  in  one  person.  It  is  too  much  to  expect 
us  to  keep  the  balance  of  our  minds  and  the  equilibrium 
of  our  bodies  at  the  same  time.  The  tippings  up,  and 
overturniugs  of  stools  and  hassocks  which  I  have  had  to 
suffer  while  preaching  rush  on  my  memory  now,  and  re- 
vive the  most  painful  sensations.  Surely  we  ought  to  be 
saved  such  petty  annoyances,  for  their  evil  is  by  no  means 
limited  by  our  discomfort;  if  it  were  so,  it  would  be  of  no 
consequence;  but  alas!  these  little  things  often  throw  the 
mind  out  of  gear,  disconnect  our  thoughts,  and  trouble 
our  spirits.  We  ought  to  rise  superior  to  such  trifles,  but 
though  the  spirit  truly  is  willing  the  flesh  is  weak.  It  is 
marvellous  how.  the  mind  is  aifected  by  the  most  trifling 
matters:  there  can  be  no  need  to  perpetuate  needless 
causes  of  discomfort.  Sydney  Smith's  storj'  shows  that 
we  have  not  been  alone  in  our  tribulation.  "I  can't 
bear,"  said  he,  "to  be  imprisoned  in  the  true  orthodox 
way  in  my  pulpit,  with  my  head  just  peeping  above  the 
desk.  I  like  to  look  down  upon  my  congregation — to  fire 
into  them.  The  common  people  say  I  am  a  ho uld  preacher, 
for  I  like  to  have  my  arms  fi*ee,  and  to  thump  the  pulpit. 
A  singular  contretemps  happened  to  me  once,  when,  to 
eflect  this,  I  had  ordered  the  clerk  to  pile  up  some  has- 
socks for  me  to  stand  on.  My  text  was,  'We  are  per- 
plexed, but  not  in  desiDair ;  persecuted,  but  not  forsaken ; 


1C2  LECTURES    TO    MY    STUDENTS. 

cast  down,  but  not  destroyed.'  I  had  scarcel}^  uttered 
these  words,  and  was  prejDaring  to  illustrate  them,  when 
I  did  so  practically,  and  in  a  way  I  had  not  at  all  antici- 
pated. My  fabric  of  hassocks  suddenly  gave  way;  down 
I  fell,  and  with  difficulty  prevented  myself  from  being 
precij)itated  into  the  arms  of  the  congregation,  who,  I 
must  sa}',  behaved  very  well,  and  recovered  their  gravity 
sooner  than  I  could  have  expected." 

But  I  must  return  to  my  subject,  and  I  do  so  by 
repeating  the  belief  that  boxed  up  pulpits  are  largely 
accountable  for  the  ungainly  postures  which  some  of  our 
preachers  assume  when  they  are  out  of  their  cages  and 
are  loose  upon  a  platform.  They  do  not  know  what  to 
do  with  their  legs  and  arms,  and  feel  awkwafd  and  ex- 
posed, and  hence  drop  into  ridiculous  attitudes.  When 
a  man  has  been  accustomed  to  regard  himself  as  an 
"  animated  bust  "  he  feels  as  if  he  had  become  too  long 
when  he  is  made  to  appear  at  full  length. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  iliat  many  men  are  made  aivh- 
ward  ilirough  fear.  It  is  not  the  man's  nature,  nor  his 
pulpit,  but  his  nervousness  which  makes  a  guy  of  him. 
To  some  it  is  a  display  of  great  courage  even  to  stand 
before  an  audience,  and  to  sjjeak  is  an  ordeal  indeed: 
no  wonder  that  their  attitude  is  constrained,  for  they  are 
twitching  and  trembling  all  over.  Every  nerve  is  in  a 
state  of  excitement,  and  their  whole  body  is  tremulous 
with  fear.  Esj^ecially  are  they  perplexed  what  to  do  with 
their  hands,  and  they  move  them  about  in  a  restless, 
irregular,  meaningless  manner;  if  they  could  have  them 
strai:)ped  down  to  their  sides  they  might  rejoice  in  the  de- 
liverance. One  of  the  clergy  of  the  Church  of  England, 
in  pleading  for  the  use  of  the  manuscript,  makes  use  of 
the  remarkable  argument  that  a  nervous  man  by  having 
to  turn  over  the  leaves  of  his  discourse  thus  keeps  hia 


POSTUKE,    ACTION,    GESTURE,   ETC.  163 

hands  occiii^iinl;  whereas,  if  he  had  no  paper  before 
him,  he  would  Bot  know  what  to  do  with  them.  It  is  an 
ill  wind  that  hlows  no  one  any  good,  and  it  must  be  a 
ver}'  bad  practice  indeed  which  has  not  some  remote 
and  occasional  advantages.  For  nervousness,  however, 
there  must  be  a  more  effectual  treatment;  the  preacher 
ehould  try  to  conquer  the  evil  rather  than  look  for  a  mode 
of  concealing  its  outward  manifestations.  Practice  is  a 
great  remedy,  and  faith  in  God  is  a  still  more  jiotent 
cure.  Whan  the  minister  becomes  accustomed  to  the 
people  he  stands  at  ease  because  he  is  at  ease ,  he  feels  at 
home,  and  as  to  his  hands  or  legs,  or  any  other  part  of 
his  person,  he  has  no  thought:  he  goes  to  work  with  all 
his  heart,  and  drops  into  the  positions  most  natural  to 
an  earnest  man,  and  these  are  the  most  appro2:)riate. 
Unstudied  gestures,  to  which  you  never  turned  your 
thoughts  for  a  moment,  are  the  very  best,  and  the 
highest  result  of  art  is  to  banish  art,  and  leave  the  man 
as  free  to  be  graceful  as  the  gazelle  among  the  moun- 
tains. 

Occasional  oddities  of  posture  and  gesture  may  arise 
from  the  dijficulfi/  of  finding  the  next  word.  An  American 
observer  some  years  ago  said,  "  It  is  iuteresting,  some- 
times, to  see  the  different  ways  in  which  different  in- 
dividuals get  out  of  the  same  dilemma.  Mr.  Calhoun  is 
not  often  at  a  loss  for  a  word,  but  occasionally  one  sticks 
in  his  throat,  in  the  pronunciation,  like  Macbeth's 
'  Amen.'  In  such  a  case  he  gives  a  petulant  twitch  or 
two  at  his  shirt  collar,  and  runs  his  bony  fingers  through 
his  long  grey  hair,  till  it  fairly  bristles  again.  "Webster, 
when  bothered  for  a  word,  or  snarled  up  in  a  sentence, 
almost  invariably  scratches  the  inner  corner  of  his  left 
eye  carefully  with  the  third  finger  of  his  right  hand. 
Failing  in  this,  he  rubs  his  nose  quite  fiercely  with  the 


1G4  LECTUKES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

bent  knuckle  of  liis  thumb.  As  a  dernier  ressori,  lie 
springs  his  knees  apart  until  his  legs  resemble  an  ellip- 
sis, then  plunging  his  hands  deep  into  his  pockets,  he 
throws  the  upper  section  of  his  body  smartly  forward, 
and  the  word  is  '  bound  to  come.'"  A  man  ought  to  be 
forgiven  for  what  he  does  when  he  is  in  an  agony,  but  it 
would  be  a  great  gain  if  he  never  suffered  from  such 
embarrassments,  and  so  escaped  from  the  consequent 
contortions. 

Habit  also  frequently  leads  speakers  into  very  singular 
movements,  and  to  these  they  become  so  wedded  that 
they  cannot  speak  without  them.  Tugging  at  a  button 
at  the  back  of  the  coat,  or  twiddling  the  fingers,  will  be 
often  seen,  not  as  a  part  of  the  preacher's  oraiory,  but 
as  a  sort  of  free  accompaniment  to  it.  Addison,  in  the 
Spectator,  relates  an  amusing  incident  of  this  kind.  "  I 
remember,  when  I  was  a  young  man,  and  used  to  fre- 
quent Westminster  Hall,  there  was  a  counsellor  who 
never  pleaded  without  a  piece  of  pack-thread  in  his 
hand,  which  he  used  to  twist  about  a  thumb  or  a  finger 
all  the  while  he  was  speaking :  the  wags  of  those  days 
used  to  call  it  the  thread  of  his  discourse,  for  he  was  not 
able  to  utter  a  word  without  it.  One  of  his  clients,  w^ho 
was  more  merry  than  wise,  stole  it  from  him  one  day  in 
the  midst  of  his  pleading,  but  he  had  better  have  let  it 
alone,  for  he  lost  his  cause  by  his  jest."  Gentlemen 
who  are  as  yet  free  from  such  little  peculiarities  should 
be  upon  their  guard  lest  they  should  gradually  yield  to 
them;  but,  so  long  as  they  are  mere  trifles,  observed 
only  by  the  few,  and  not  injurious  to  the  preacher's 
efforts,  no  great  stress  needs  to  be  laid  upon  them. 

The  posture  of  the  minister  should  be  natural,  but  his 
nature  must  not  be  of  a  coarse  type;  it  should  be  grace- 
ful, educated  nature.     He  should  avoid  especially  those 


POSTURE,    ACTION,    GESTURE,    ETC.  105 

positions  which  are  unnatural  to  a  speaker,  because  they 
hamper  the  organs  of  utterance,  or  cramp  his  lungs- 
He  should  use  his  common  sense,  and  not  make  it  diffi- 
cult for  him  to  speak  by  leaning  forward  over  the  Bible 
or  book-board.  Bending  over  as  if  you  were  speaking 
confidentially  to  the  persons  immediately  below  may  be 
tolerated  occasionally,  but  as  a  customary  position  it  is 
as  injurious  as  it  is  ungraceful.  Who  thinks  of  stooping 
when  he  speaks  in  the  parlor?  What  killing  work  it 
would  be  to  conduct  a  long  conversation  while  pressing 
the  breathing  apparatus  against  the  edge  of  a  table ! 
Stand  upright,  get  a  firm  position,  and  then  speak  like  a 
man.  A  few  orators  even  err  in  the  other  direction,  and 
throw  their  heads  far  back,  as  though  they  were  address- 
ing the  angels,  or  saw  a  handwriting  upon  the  ceiling. 
This  also  cometh  of  evil,  and  uuless  the  occasional  sublime 
apostrophe  requires  it,  is  by  no  means  to  be  practised. 
John  Wesley  well  says,  "  The  head  ought  not  to  be  held 
up  too  high,  nor  clownishly  thrust  too  forward,  neither 
to  be  cast  down  and  hang,  as  it  were,  on  the  breast;  nor 
to  lean  always  on  one  or  the  other  side;  but  to  be  kept 
modestly  and  decently  vipright,  in  its  natural  state  and 
position.  Further,  it  ought  neither  to  be  kept  immova- 
ble, as  a  statue,  nor  to  be  continually  moving  and  throw- 
ing itself  about.  To  avoid  both  extremes,  it  should  be 
turned  gently,  as  occasion  is,  sometimes  one  way,  some- 
times the  other;  and  at  other  times  remain,  looking 
straight  forward,  to  the  middle  of  the  auditory." 

Too  many  men  assume  a  slouching  attitude,  lolling 
and  sprawling  as  if  they  were  lounging  on  the  parapet 
of  a  bridge  and  chatting  with  somebody  down  in  a  boat 
on  the  river.  We  do  not  go  into  the  pulpit  to  slouch 
about,  and  to  look  free  and  easy,  but  we  go  there  upon 
very  solemn  business,  and  our  posture  should  be  such  as 


IGG  LECTUKES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

becomes  our  mission.  A  reverent  and  earnest  sj)irit  will 
not  be  indicated  by  a  sluggish  lounge  or  a  careless 
slouch.  It  is  said  that  among  the  Greeks  even  the 
ploughmen  and  herdsmen  take  uj)  graceful  attitudes 
without  any  idea  that  they  are  doing  so.  I  think  it  is 
also  true  of  the  Itahans,  for  wherever  I  have  seen  a 
Roman  man  or  woman — no  matter  whether  they  are 
sleeping  upon  the  Spagna  stepa,  or  sitting  upon  a  frag- 
ment of  the  baths  of  Caracalla,  or  carrying  a  bundle  on 
their  heads,  or  riding  a  mule,  they  always  look  like 
studies  for  an  artist ;  yet  this  is  the  last  thing  which  ever 
crosses  their  minds.  Those  picturesque  peasants  have 
never  taken  lessons  in  calisthenics,  nor  do  they  trouble 
their  heads  as  to  how  they  appear  to  the  foreigner  ;  pure 
nature,  delivered  from  mannerism,  primness,  and  affecta- 
tion, moulds  their  habits  into  gracefulness.  We  should 
be  foolish  to  imitate  Greeks  or  Italians,  except  in  their 
freedom  from  all  imitation,  but  it  were  well  if  we  could 
copy  their  unconstrained  and  natural  action.  There  is 
no  reason  why  a  Christian  should  be  a  clown,  and  there 
are  a  great  many  reasons  why  a  minister  should  not  be  a 
boor.  As  Rowland  Hill  said  that  he  could  not  see  why 
Satan  should  have  the  best  tunes,  so  neither  can  I  see 
why  he  should  have  the  most  gx'aceful  speakers ! 

Now  leaving  posture,  let  us  more  distinctly  notice 
action  in  preaching  ;  this  also  is  a  secondary  and  j-et  an 
important  item.  Our  first  observation  shall  be,  it  sliould 
never  he  excessive.  In  this  matter  bodily  exercise  profiteth 
little.  We  cannot  readily  judge  when  action  is  excessive, 
for  what  would  be  excessive  in  one  man  may  be  most 
fitting  and  proper  in  another.  Different  races  emjDloy 
different  action  in  speaking.  Two  Englishmen  will  talk 
very  quietly  and  soberly  to  one  another  compared  with  a 
couple   of  Frenchmen.      Notice  our  Gallic  neighbors : 


POSTURE,    ACTION,    GESTUEE,    ETC.  167 

they  talk  all  over,  aud  shrug  their  shoulders,  and  move 
their  lingers,  and  gesticulate  most  vehemently.  Very 
well,  then,  we  may  allow  a  French  preacher  to  be  more 
demonstrative  in  preaching  than  an  Englishmau,  because 
he  is  so  in  ordinary  speech.  I  am  not  sure  that  a  French 
divine  is  so  as  a  matter  of  fact,  but  if  he  were  so  it  could 
be  accounted  for  by  the  national  habit.  If  you  and  I 
were  to  converse  in  the  Parisian  fashion  we  should  excite 
ridicvde,  and,  in  the  same  way,  if  we  were  to  become  vio- 
lent and  vehement  in  the  pulpit  we  might  run  the  same 
risk  ;  for  ii  Addison  be  an  authority,  Eughsh  orators  use 
less  gestures  than  those  of  other  countries.  As  it  is  with 
races  so  is  it  with  men  :  some  naturally  gesticulate  more 
than  others,  and  if  it  be  really  natural,  we  have  Httle  fault 
to  find.  For  instance,  we  cannot  censure  John  Gough's 
marvellous  gesticulation  and  perambulation,  for  he  would 
not  have  been  Gough  witliout  them.  I  wonder  how 
many  miles  he  walks  in  the  course  of  one  of  his  lectures ! 
Did  we  not  see  him  chmb  the  sides  of  a  volcano  in  ijm- 
suit  of  a  bubble  ?  How  we  pitied  him  as  we  saw  him 
ankle  deep  in  the  hot  ashes !  Then  he  was  away,  away 
at  the  other  end  of  the  platform  at  Exeter  Hall,  ajjos- 
trophizing  a  glass  of  water  ;  but  he  only  stopped  there  a 
moment,  and  anon  made  another  rush  over  the  corns  of 
the  temperance  brethren  in  the  front  row.  Now,  this 
was  right  enough  for  John  Gough  ;  but  if  you,  John 
Smith  or  John  Brown,  commence  these  perambulations 
you  will  soon  be  hkened  to  the  wandering  Jew,  or  to  the 
polar  bear,  at  the  Zoological  Gardens,  which  for  ever 
goes  backwards  and  forwards  in  its  den.  Martin  Luther 
was  wont  to  smite  with  his  fist  at  such  a  rate  that  they 
show,  at  Eisenach,  a  board— I  think  a  three-inch  board 
—which  he  broke  while  hammering  at  a  text.  The  truth 
of  the  legend  has  been  doubted,  for  it  has  been  assei-ted 


168  LECTURES    TO    MY    STUDENTS. 

that  those  delicate  hands,  which  could  play  so  charm- 
ingly upon  the  guitar,  could  hardly  have  been  treated  so 
roughly;  but  if  the  hand  be  an  index  of  its  owner's 
character,  we  can  weU  believe  it,  for  strength  and  ten- 
derness were  marvellously  combined  in  Luther.  There 
was  much  delicacy  and  sensitiveness  about  Luther's 
mir  'Ij  yet  these  never  diminished,  but  rather  increased, 
its  tremendous  energy.  It  is  by  no  means  difficult  to 
believe  that  he  could  smash  up  a  plank,  from  the  style  in 
which  he  struck  out  at  the  Pojdc  ;  and  yet  we  can  well 
imagine  that  he  would  touch  the  strings  of  .his  guitar 
with  a  maiden's  hand  ;  even  as  David  could  play  skilfully 
upon  the  harp,  and  yet  a  bow  of  steel  was  broken  by  his 
arms.  John  Knox  is  said  at  one  time  to  have  been  so 
feeble  that,  before  he  entered  the  pulpit,  you  would  ex- 
pect to  see  him  drop  down  in  a  fainting  fit ;  but  once 
before  the  audience  he  seemed  as  though  he  would  "  ding 
the  pulpit  in  blads,"  which,  being  interpreted,  means  in 
English  that  he  would  knoek  it  into  shivers.  That  was 
evidently  the  style  of  the  period  when  Protestants  were 
fighting  for  their  very  existence,  and  the  Pope  and  his 
priests  and  the  devil  and  his  angels  were  aroused  to 
special  fury:  yet  I  do  not  suppose  that  Melancthon 
thought  it  needful  to  be  quite  so  tremendous,  nor  did 
Calvin  hammer  and  slash  in  a  like  manner.  At  any  rate, 
you  need  not  try  to  break  three-inch  boards,  for  there 
might  be  a  nail  in  one  of  them  ;  neither  need  you  ding 
a  pulpit  into  "blads,"  for  you  might  find  yourself 
without  a  pulpit  if  you  did.  Come  upon  consciences 
with  a  crash,  and  aim  at  breaking  hard  hearts  by 
the  power  of  the  Spirit,  but  these  require  spiritual 
power  ;  physical  ejiergy  is  not  the  power  of  God  unto 
salvation. 


POSTURE,    ACTIOlSr,    GESTTJRE,    ETC.  169 

It  is  very  easy  to  overdo  the  thing  so  much  as  to 
make  yourself  appear  ridiculous.  Perhaps  it  was  a 
keen  perception  of  this  danger  which  led  Dr.  Johnson  to 
forbid  action  altogether,  and  to  commend  Dr.  "Watts  very 
highly  because  "  he  did  not  endeavor  to  assist  his  elo- 
quence by  any  gesticulations;  for  as  no  corporeal  actions 
have  any  corresjiondence  with  theological  truth,  he  did 
not  see  how  they  could  enforce  it."  The  great  lexico- 
grapher's remark  is  nonsense,  but  if  it  should  be  thought 
weighty  enough  to  reduce  a  preacher  to  absolute  in- 
action, it  will  be  better  than  overwrought  posturing. 
When  Nathan  addressed  David,  I  suppose  that  he 
delivered  his  parable  very  quietly,  and  that  when  the 
time  came  to  say,  "  Thou  art  the  man,"  he  gave  the  king 
a  deep  earnest  look;  but  young  ministers  imagine  that 
the  prophet  strode  into  the  middle  of  the  room  and  set- 
ting his  right  foot  forward,  pointed  his  finger  like  a  pis- 
tol between  the  royal  eyes,  ana  giving  a  loud  stamji  of 
the  foot,  shouted,  "  thou  art  the  man."  Had  it  been  so 
done  it  is  to  be  feared  that  the  royal  culprit  woidd  have 
had  his  thoughts  turned  from  hi^  ;self  to  the  insane  pro- 
phet, and  would  have  called  for  his  guards  to  clear  the 
hall.  Nathan  was  too  solemnly  in  earnest  to  be  indecently 
violent;  and  as  a  general  rule  we  may  here  note  that  it  is 
the  tendency  of  deep  feeHng  rather  to  subdue  the  man- 
ner than  to  render  it  too  energetic.  He  who  beats  the 
air,  and  bawls,  and  raves,  and  stamps,  means  nothing: 
and  the  more  a  man  really  means  what  he  says  the  less 
of  vulgar  vehemence  will  there  be.  John  Wesley  in  his 
"  Directions  concerning  Pronunciation  and  Gesture" 
cramps  the  preacher  too  much  when  he  says,  "  He  must 
never  clap  his  hands,  nor  thump  the  pulpit.  The  hands 
should  seldom  be  raised  higher  than  the  eyes";  but 
he  probably  had  his  eye  upon  some  glaring  case  of  ex- 


170  LECTURES   TO    Mr    STUDENTS. 

travagance.  He  is  right,  however,  when  he  warns  his 
preachers  that  "the  hands  should  not  be  in  perpetual 
motion,  for  this  the  ancients  called  the  babbling  of  the 
hands." 

Russell  very  wisely  says:  "True  vehemence  never 
degenerates  into  violence  and  vociferation.  It  is  the 
force  of  inspiration, — not  of  frenzy.  It  is  not  manifested 
in  the  screaming  and  foaming,  stamping  and  the  contor- 
tions, of  vulgar  excess.  It  is  ever  manly  and  noble,  in 
its  intensest  excitement:  it  elevates, — it  does  not  de- 
grade. It  never  descends  to  the  bawling  voice,  the  gut- 
tural coarseness,  the  shrieking  emphasis,  the  hysteric 
ecstacy  of  tone,  the  bullying  attitude,  and  the  clinched 
list  of  extravagant  passion."  * 

When  your  sermon  seems  to  demand  of  you  a  little 
imitative  action,  be  peculiarly  \vatchf ul  lest  you  go  too  far, 
for  this  you  may  do  before  you  are  aware  of  it.  I 
have  heard  of  a  young  divine  who  in  expostulation  with 
the  unconverted  exclaimed,  "  Alas,  you  shut  your  eyes  to 
the  light  (here  he  closed  both  e^'es) ;  you  stop  your  ears 
to  the  truth  (here  he  put  a  linger  into  each  ear) ;  and  you 
turn  your  backs  upon  salvation"  (here  he  turned  his  back 
on  the  people).  Do  you  wonder  that  when  the  people 
saw  a  man  standing  with  his  back  to  them  and  his  hugers 
in  his  ears  they  all  fell  to  laughing  V  The  action  might 
be  aj^propriate,  but  it  was  overdone,  and  had  better  have 
been  left  undone. 

*  Pulpit  Elocutiou:  comprJsiug  Eemarks  on  the  Effect  of  Man- 
ner in  Public  Discourse  ;  the  Elements  of  Elocution,  applied  to 
the  reading  of  Scripture,  Hymns,  and  ISermons;  with  observa- 
tions on  the  Principles  of  Gesture  ;  and  a  Selection  of  Exercises 
in  reading  and  speaking.  By  William  Kuysell,  with  an  Intro- 
duction, by  Edwards  A  Park,  D.  D.,  and  Kev.  Edward  N.  Kirk. 
Andover  [U.  S.  A.],  1853. 


POSTURE,    ACTIOX,    GESTURE,    ETC. 


171 


Violent  gesture,  even  wlien  commended  by  some,  will 
be  sure  to  strike  otliers  from  its  comic  side.  When 
Burke  in  the  House  of  Commons 
flung  down  the  dagger  to  show 
that  Englishmen  v,'ere  making- 
weapons  to  be  used  against  their 
own  countrymen,  his  action  seems 
to  me  to  have  been  striking  and 
touch  to  the  purpose,  and  yet 
Sheridan  said,  "  The  gentleman 
has  brought  us  the  knife,  where  is 
the  fork  ?  "  and  Gilray  wickedly 
caricatured  him.  The  risks  of  too 
little  action  are  by  no  means 
great,  but  you  can  j^lainh"  see 
that  there  are  great  perils  in  the 
other  direction.  Therefore,  do 
not  carry  action  too  far,  and  if  boeke. 

you  feel  that  you  are  naturally  very  energetic  in  your 
delivery,  repress  your  energies  a  little.  Wave  your 
hands  a  little  less,  smite  the  Bible  somewhat  more  mer- 
cifully and  in  general  take  matters  rather  more  calml}'. 

Perhaps  a  man  is  nearest  to  the  gold  mean  in  action 
Avhen  his  manner  excites  no  remark  either  of  praise  or 
censure,  because  it  is  so  completely  of  a  piece  with  the 
discourse  that  it  is  not  regarded  as  a  separate  item  at 
all.  That  action  which  gains  conspicuous  notice  is  jirob- 
ably  out  of  jDroportion,  and  excessive.  Mr.  Hall  once 
spent  an  evening  with  Mrs.  Hannah  More,  and  his  judg- 
ment upon  her  manners  might  well  serve  as  a  criticism 
upon  the  mannerisms  of  ministers.  "  Nothing  striking, 
madam,  certainly  not.  Her  manners  are  too  pefectly 
proper  to  be  striking.  Striking  manners  are  bad  man- 
ners, you  know,  madam.     She  is  a  perfect  lady,   and 


172  LECTURES    TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

studiously  avoids  those   eccentricities   which   constitute 
striking-  manners." 

In  the  second  place,  action  sJiould  he  expressive  and  ap- 
propriate. "We  cannot  exjoress  so  much  bj  action  as  by 
language,  but  one  may  express  a  few  things  with  even 
greater  force.  Indignantly  to  oj)en  a  door  and  point  to 
it  is  quite  as  emj^hatic  as  the  words,  "  Leave  the  room !  " 
To  refuse  the  hand  when  another  ofiers  his  own  is  a  very 
marked  declaration  of  ill-will,  and  will  probably  create  a 
more  enduring  bitterness  than  the  severest  words.  A 
request  to  remain  silent  u\)on  a  certain  subject  could 
be  well  conveyed  by  laying  the  jfinger  across  the  lips.  A 
shake  of  the  head  indicates  disapprobation  in  a  very 
marked  manner.  The  lifted  eye-brows  express  surprise 
in  a  forcible  style;  and  every  part  of  the  face  has  its  own 
eloquence  of  pleasure  and  of  grief.  What  volumes  can 
be  condensed  into  a  shrug  of  the  shoulders,  and  what 
mournful  mischief  that  same  shrug  has  wrought!  Since, 
then,  gesture  and  posture  can  sj^eak  powerfully,  we  must 
take  care  to  let  them  speak  correctl}'.  It  will  never  do 
to  imitate  the  famous  Grecian  who  cried,  "  O  heaven !  " 
with  his  finger  pointing  to  the  earth;  nor  to  describe  dy- 
^  ing  weakness  by  thumping  ujDon  the  book-board.  Ner- 
vous speakers  ajopear  to  fire  at  random  with  their  gest- 
ure?, and  you  may  see  them  wringing  their  hands  while 
they  are  dilating  upon  the  joys  of  faith,  or  grasping  the 
side  of  the  pulj^it  convulsively  when  they  are  bidding 
the  believer  hold  all  earthly  things  with  a  loose  hand. 
Even  when  no  longer  timorous,  brethren  do  not  always 
manage  their  gestures  so  as  to  make  them  run  parallel 
with  their  words.  Men  may  be  seen  denouncing  with 
descending  fist  the  ver}'  persons  whom  they  are  endeav- 
oring to  corbfort.  No  brother  among  you  would,  I  hope, 
be  so  stupid  as  to  clasp  his  hands  while  saying — "the 


POSTURE,    ACTION,    GESTURE,    ETC.  178 

gospel  is  not  meant  to  be  confined  to  a  few.  Its  spirit  is 
generous  and  expansive.  It  oj^eiis  its  arms  to  men  of  all 
ranks  and  nations."  It  would  be  an  equal  solecism  if 
you  were  to  spread  forth  your  arms  and  cry,  "  Brethren, 
concentrate  your  energies !  Gather  them  up,  as  a  com- 
mander gathers  his  troops  to  the  royal  standard  m  the 
day  of  battle."  Now,  put  the  gestures  into  their  jn'oper 
places  and  see  how  diffusion  may  be  expressed  b}-  the 
opened  arms,  and  concentration  by  the  united  hands. 

Action  and  tone  together  may  absolutely  contradict 
the  meaning  of  the  words.  The  Abbe  Mullois  tells  us 
of  a  malicious  wag  who  on  hearing  a  preacher  pronounce 
those  terrible  words,  "Depart,  ye  cursed,"  in  the  bland- 
est manner,  turned  to  his  companion  and  said,  "  Come 
here,  1113'  lad,  and  let  me  embrace  3'ou;  that  is  what  the 
parson  has  just  expressed."  This  is  a  sad  business,  but 
by  no  means  an  uncommon  one.  What  force  may  the 
language  of  Scripture  lose  through  the  preacher's  ill-de- 
livery !  Those  words  which  the  French  preacher  pro- 
nounced in  so  ill  a  manner  are  veiy  terrible,  and  I  felt 
them  to  be  so  when  a  short  while  ago  I  heard  them 
hissed  forth  in  awful  earnest,  by  an  insane  person  who 
thought  himself  a  prophet  sent  to  curse  ni^'self  and  my 
congregation.  "  Depart,  ye  cursed,"  came  forth  from 
his  lips  like  the  mutterings  of  thunder,  and  the  last  word 
seemed  to  bite  into  the  vei-y  soul,  as  with  flaming  eye 
and  outstretched  hand  the  fanatic  flashed  it  ui^on  the 
assembly. 

Too  many  speakers  appear  to  have  taken  lessons  from 
Bendigo,  or  some  other  professor  of  the  noble  art  of  self- 
defence,  for  the}'  hold  their  fists  as  if  they  were  read_v. 
for  a  round.  It  is  not  pleasant  to  watch  brethren 
preaching  the  gospel  of  peace  in  that  pugnacious  style; 
yet   it   is  by  no  means  rare   to   hear  of  an  evangelist 


174 


LECTUKES   TO    MY   STODEKTS 


preaching  a  free  Christ  with  a  chnched  fist.  It  is  amus- 
ing" to  see  them  putting  tliemselves  into  an  attitude 
and  saying",  "  Come  unto  me,"  and  then,  Avith  a  re- 
vohition  of  both  fists,  "  and  I  will  give  you  —  rest." 
Better  not  suggest  such  ridiculous  ideas,  but  they  have 
been  suggested  more  than  once  by  men  who  earnestly 
desired  above  all  things  to  make  their  hearers  think  of 
better  things.  Gentlemen,  I  am  not  at  all  surjorised  at 
your  laughing,  but  it  is  infinitely  better  that  you  should 
have  a  hearty  laugh  at  these  absurdities  here  than  that 
your  people  should  laugh  at  you 
in  the  future.  I  am  giving  you 
no  imaginary  sketch,  but  one 
which  I  have  seen  myself  and  fear 
I  may  yet  see  again.  Those  awk- 
ward hands,  if  once  brought  into 
subjection,  become  our  best  allies. 
We  can  talk  with  them  almost  as 
well  as  with  our  tongues,  and 
make  a  sort  of  silent  music  with 
them  which  will  add  to  the  charm 
of  our  words.  If  yoM  have  never 
read  Sir  Charles  Bell  on  "The 
Hand,"  be  sure  to  do  so,  and 
note  well  the  following  passage:— 

"  We  must  not  omit  to  speak  of  the  hand  as  an  instru- 
ment of  expression.  Formal  dissertations  have  been 
written  on  this.  But  were  we  constrained  to  seek  au- 
thorities, we  might  take  the  great  painters  in  evidence, 
since  by  the  position  of  the  hands,  in  comformity  with 
the  figure,  they  have  expressed  every  sentiment.  Who, 
for  exami^le,  can  deny  the  eloquence  of  the  hands  in  the 
Magdalens  of  Guidio;  their  expression  in  the  cartoons 
of  Raphael,  or  in  the  Last  Supper,    by  Leonardo  da 


POSTUEE,    ACTION,    GESTURE,    ETC.  175 

Vinci?  We  see  there  expressed  all  that  Quinctilian  saj's 
the  haiid  is  capable  of  expressing.  '  For  other  parts  of 
the  body,'  saj's  he,  '  assist  the  speaker,  but  these,  I  may 
say,  speak  themselves.  By  them  we  ask,  we  promise,  we 
invoke,  we  dismiss,  we  threaten,  we  entreat,  we  depre- 
cate, we  express  fear,  joy,  grief,  our  doubts,  our  assent, 
our  penitence:  we  show  moderation,  or  profusion;  we 
mark  number  and  time.' " 

The  face,  and  especially  the  eyes,  will  play  a  very  im- 
portant part  in  all  appropriate  action.  ]t  is  very  unfort- 
unate when  ministers  cannot  look  at  their  people.  It  is 
singular  to  hear  them  pleading  with  persons  whom  the}' 
do  not  see.  They  are  entreating  them  to  look  to  Jesus 
upon  the  cross!  You  wonder  where  the  sinners  are. 
The  preacher's  eyes  are  turned  upon  his  book,  or  up  to 
the  ceiling,  or  into  empty  space.  It  seems  to  me  that 
you  must  fix  your  ej'es  upon  the  people  when  j-ou  come 
to  exhortation.  There  are  parts  of  a  sermon  in  which 
the  sublimity  of  the  doctrine  may  call  for  the  uplifted 
gaze,  and  there  are  other  portions  which  may  allow  the 
eyes  to  wander  as  you  will;  but  when  pleading  time  has 
come,  it  will  be  inappropriate  to  look  anywhere  but  to 
the  persons  addressed.  Brethren  who  never  do  this  at 
all  lose  a  great  power.  When  Dr.  Wayland  was  ill,  he 
wrote,  "Whether  I  am  to  recover  my  former  health  I 
know  not.  If,  however,  I  should  be  permitted  to  preach 
again,  I  will  certainly  do  what  is  in  my  power  to  learn  to 
preach  dii'ectly  to  men,  looking  them  in  their  faces,  and  not 
looking  at  the  paper  on  the  desk." 

The  man  who  would  be  perfect  in  posture  and  gesture 
must  regulate  his  whole  frame,  for  in  one  case  a  man's 
most  suitable  action  will  be  that  of  his  head,  and  in 
another  that  of  his  hands,  and  in  a  third  that  of  his 
trunk  alone.     Quinctilian  says — "  The  sides  should  bear 


17G  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

their  part  in  the  gesture.  The  motion,  also,  of  the  whole 
body  contributes  much  to  the  eflect  iu  delivery:  so  much 
so  that  Cicero  is  of  opinion  that  more  can  be  done  by  its 
gesture  than  even  by  the  hands  themselves.  Thus  he 
says  in  his  work  De  Graf  ore:  — 'There  will  be  no  aflected 
motions  of  the  fingers,  no  fall  of  the  fingers  to  suit  the 
measured  cadence  of  the  language ;  but  he  will  joroduce 
gestures  by  the  movements  of  his  whole  bodj^  and  by  the 
manly  inflexion  of  his  side.'  " 

I  might  multiply  illustrations  of  what  I  mean  by 
appropriate  actions,  but  these  must  suffice.  Let  the 
gesture  tally  with  the  words,  and  be  a  sort  of  running 
commentary  and  practical  exegesis  upon  what  you  are 
sa^'ing.  Here  I  must  make  a  j)ause,  hoiDing  to  continue 
the  subject  in  my  next  lecture.  But  so  conscious  am  I 
that  many  may  think  my  subject  so  secondary  as  to  be 
of  no  importance  whatever,  that  I  close  b}^  giving  an 
instance  of  the  careful  manner  in  which  great  painters 
take  heed  to  minute  details,  only  drawing  this  inference, 
that  if  they  are  thus  attentive  to  little  things,  much  more , 
ought  we  to  be.  Vigneul  Marville  says: — "  When  I  was  \ 
at  Rome  I  frequently  saw  Claude,  who  was  then  patron-  \ 
ized  by  the  most  eminent  persons  in  that  city;  I  frequently  \^ 
met  him  on  the  banks  of  the  Tiber,  or  wandering 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Rome,  amidst  the  venerable 
remains  of  antiquity.  He  was  then  an  old  man,  jet  I 
have  seen  him  returning  from  his  walk  with  his  handker- 
chief filled  with  mosses,  flowers,  stones,  etc..  that  he 
might  consider  them  at  home  with  that  indefatigable 
attention  which  rendered  him  so  exact  a  copier  of  nature. 
I  asked  him  one  da}'  by  what  means  he  arrived  at  sucli 
an  excellency  of  character  among  jiainters,  even  in  Italy. 
'  I  spare  no  pains  whatever,  even  m  the  minutest  trifles,' 
was  the  modest  reply  of  this  venerable  genius.' 


LECTURE   VIL 

POSTURE,   ACTION,   GESTURE,  ETC. 
[second  lecture.] 

This  lectiu-e  begins  at  thii'dly.  If  you  remember,  we 
have  said  that  gesture  should  not  be  excessive,  aud  sec- 
ondly that  it  should  be  ajspropriate :  now  comes  the 
third  canon,  action  and  gesture  should  never'  be  grotesque. 
This  is  plain  enough,  and  I  shall  not  enforce  it  except 
by  giving  specimens  of  the  grotesque,  that  you  may  not 
only  avoid  the  identical  instances,  bat  all  of  a  similar 
character.  In  all  ages  absurd  gestures  would  appear  to 
have  been  very  numerous,  for  in  an  old  author  I  find  a 
long  list  of  oddities,  some  of  which  it  is  to  be  hoped 
have  taken  their  leave  of  this  world,  while  others  are  de- 
scribed in  language  so  forcible  that  it  probably  carica- 
tures the  actual  facts.  This  writer  says:  "  Some  hold 
their  heads  immovable,  and  turned  to  one  side,  as  if  they 
were  made  of  horn;  others  stare  with  their  eyes  as  hor- 
ribly as  if  they  intended  to  frighten  every  one ;  some  are 
continually  twisting  their  mouths  and  working  their 
chins  while  they  are  speaking,  as  if,  all  the  time,  they 
were  cracking  nuts;  some,  like  the  apostate  Julian, 
breathe  insult,  and  express  contempt  and  impudence  in 
their  countenances.  Others,  as  if  they  personated  the 
fictitious  heroes  in  tragedy,  gape  enormously,  and  ex- 
tend their  jaws  as  "widely  as  if  they  were  going  to  swal- 
low up  everybody:  above  all,  when  they  bellow  with 
fury,  they  scatter  their  foam  about,  and  threaten  with 

177 


178  LECTUEES  TO  MY  STUDENTS. 

contracted  brow,  and  eyes  like  Saturn.  These,  as  if  they 
were  j^laying  some  game,  are  continually  making  mo- 
tions with  their  fingers,  and,  by  the  extraordinary'  work- 
ing of  their  hands,  endeavor  to  form  in  the  air,  I  may  al- 
most say,  all  the  lingers  of  the  mathematicians:  those,  on 
the  contrary,  have  hands  so  ponderous,  and  so  fastened 
down  by  terror,  that  they  could  more  easily  move  beams 
of  timber.  Many  labor  so  with  their  elbows,  that  it  is 
evident,  either  that  they  had  been  formerly  shoemakers 
themselves,  or  had  lived  in  no  other  society  than  that  of 
cobblers.  Some  are  so  unsteady  in  the  motions  of  their 
bodies,  that  they  seem  to  be  speaking  out  of  a  cock-boat; 
others  again  are  so  unwieldy  and  uncouth  in  their  mo- 
tions, that  you  would  think  them  to  be  sacL^  of  tow 
painted  to  look  like  men.  I  have  seen  some  who 
j unlived  on  the  platform  and  capered  nearly  in  measure; 
men  that  exhibited  the  fuller's  dance,  and,  as  the  old 
poet  says,  expressed  their  wit  with  their  feet.  But  who 
in  a  short  compass  is  able  to  enumerate  all  the  faults  of 
gesture,  and  all  the  absurdities  of  bad  delivery  ?"  This 
catalogue  might  siirely  content  the  most  voracious  col- 
lector for  the  chamber  of  horrors,  but  it  does  not  include 
the  half  of  what  may  be  seen  in  our  own  times  by  any 
one  who  is  able  to  ramble  from  one  assembly  to  another. 
As  children  seem  never  to  have  exhausted  their  mis- 
chievous tricks,  so  speakers  appear  never  to  be  at  the 
end  of  their  singular  gestures.  Even  the  best  fall  into 
them  occasionally 

The  first  species  of  grotesque  action  may  be  named  the 
stiff;  and  this  is  very  common.  Men  who  exhibit  this 
horror  appear  to  have  no  bend  in  their  bodies  and  to  be 
rigid  about  the  joints.  The  arms  and  legs  ai-e  moved  as 
if  they  were  upon  iron  hinges,  and  were  made  of  exceed- 
ingly  hard  metak     A  wooden  anatomical  doll,  such  as 


POSTURE,    ACTION,    GESTURE,    ETC.  179 

artists  use,  might  well  represent  their  limbs  m  straight  and 
stiff,  but  it  would  fail  to  show  the  jerks  Avith  which  tlicjse 
limbs  are  thrown  up  and  down.  There  is  nothing  round 
in  the  action  of  these  brethren;  everything  is  angular, 
sharp,  mechanical.  If  I  were  to  set  forth  what  I  mean 
by  putting  myself  into  their  rectangular  attitudes  I  might 
be  supposed  to  caricature  more  then  one  exceedingly 
able  northern  divine,  and  having  the  fear  of  this  before 
my  eyes,  and,  moreover,  holding  these  brethren  in  su- 
preme respect,  I  dare  not  go  into  very  minute  particulars. 
Yet  it  is  supposable  that  these  good  men  are  them- 
selves aware  that  their  legs  should  not  be  set  down  as  if 
they  belonged  to  a  linen-horse,  or  a  huge  pair  of  tongs, 
and  that  their  arms  should  not  be  absolutely  rigid  like 
pokers.  Oil  for  the  joints  has  been  suggested,  but  there 
appears  to  be  a  want  of  oil  in  the  limbs  themselves, 
which  move  up  and  down  as  if  they  belonged  to  a  ma- 
chine rather  than  to  a  living  organism.  Surely  any  sort 
of  physical  exercise  might  help  to  cure  this  mischief, 
which  in  some  living  preachers  almost  amounts  to  a  de- 
formity'. On  the  platform  of  Exeter  Hall,  gentlemen 
afflicted  with  unnatural  stiffness  not  onl}'  furnish  matter 
for  the  skilful  caricaturist,  but  unfortunately  call  off  the 
attention  of  their  auditors  from  their  admirable  speeches 
by  their  execrable  action.  On  a  certain  occasion  we 
heard  live  or  six  remarks  ujDon  the  awkwardness  of  the 
doctor's  posturing,  and  only  one  or  two  encomiums  upon 
his  excellent  speech.  "People  should  not  notice  such 
trifles,"  remarks  our  friend  Philo;  but  people  do  notice 
such  trifles,  whether  they  ought  to  do  so  or  not,  and  there- 
fore it  is  well  not  to  display  them.  It  is  probable  that 
the  whole  of  this  lecture  will  be  regarded  by  some  very 
excellent  people  as  beneath  their  notice,  and  savoring 
of  questionble  humor,   but  that  I  cannot  help;  for  al- 


180 


LECTURES    TO    MY   STUDENTS, 


though  I  do  not  get  so  much  value  upon  action  as  De- 
mosthenes did  when  he  made  it  the  first,  the  second  and 
the  third  jDoint  in  oratory,  yet  it  is  certain  that  much 
good  si^eech  is  bereft  of  power  through  the  awkward  de- 
portment of  the  speaker;  and  therefore  if  I  may  in  any 
measure  redress  the  evil  I  will  cheerfully  bear  the  criti- 
cism of  my  more  sombre  brethren.  I  am  deeply  in  ear- 
nest, however  jilayful  my  remarks  may  seem  to  be. 
These  follies  may  be  best  shot  at  by  the  light  arrows  of 
ridicule,  and  therefore  I  employ  them,  not  being  of  the 
same  mind  as  those 


"  Wlio  think  all  virtue  lies  in  gravity, 
And  smiles  are  symptoms  of  depravity." 

The  second  form  of  the  grotesque  is  not  unlike  the  first, 
and  may  be  best  distinguished  as  the  regular  and  nivchan- 
ical.  Men  in  tliis  case  move  as  if  they  were  not  living 
beings  possessed  of  will  and  intellect,  but  as  if  they  were 
automatons  formed  to  go  through  prescribed  movements 
at  jDrecise  intervals.  At  the  back  of 
the  Tabernacle  a  cottager  has  placed 
over  his  house  a  kind  of  vane,  in  the 
form  of  a  little  soldier,  which  lifts 
first  one  arm  and  then  the  other 
with  rather  an  imiDortant  air.  It 
has  made  me  smile  many  a  time  by 

irresistibly  reminding  me  of ,who 

alternately  jerks  each  arm,  or  if  he 
allows  one  arm  to  lie  still,  chops  the 
other  up  and  down  as  persistently 
as  if  he  were  moved  by  wind  or 
by  clock-work.  Up  and  down,  up 
and  down  the  hand  goes,  turning 
neither  to  the  rioht  nor  to  the  left; 


POSTURl!,    ACTION,    GESTUEE,    ETC.  I8l 

every  other  movement  being  utterly  abjured,  except  this 
one  monotonous  ascent  and  descent.  It  matters  httle 
how  unobjectionable  a  movement  juslj  be  in  itself,  it  will 
become  intolerable  if  it  be  continued  without  variation. 
Ludovicus  CresoUius,  of  Brittany,  (1G20)  in  his  treatise 
uj^on  the  action  and  j)ronunciation  of  an  orator,  speaks 
somewhat  strongly  of  a  learned  and  polished  Parisian 
preacher,  who  had  aroused  his  ire  by  the  wearisome  mo- 
notony of  his  action.  "  When  he  turned  himself  to  the 
ieft  he  spoke  a  few  words  accompanied  by  a  moderate 
gesture  of  the  hand,  then  bending  to  the  right  he  acted 
the  same  part  over  again;  then  back  again  to  the  left,  and 
presently  to  the  right  again:  almost  at  an  equal  and 
measured  interval  of  time  he  worked  himself  up  to 
his  usual  gesture,  and  went  through  his  one  kind  of 
movement.  You  could  compare  him  only  to  the  blind- 
folded Babylonian  oxen  going  forward  and  turning  back 
by  the  same  path.  I  was  so  disgusted  that  I  shut  my 
eyes,  but  even  so  I  could  not  get  over  the  disagreeable 
impression  of  the  sjieaker's  manner." 

The  prevailing  House  of  Commons'  style,  so  far  as  I 
have  seen  it  in  pul)lic  meetings,  consists  of  an  up  and 
down  movement  of  the  back  and  the  hand:  one  seems  to 
see  the  M.  P.  bowing  to  Mr.  Speaker,  and  the  honorable 
house  much  as  a  waiter  will  do  at  an  eating-house  when 
he  is  receiving  an  order  for  an  elaborate  dinner.  "  Yes 
sir,"  "Yes  sir,"  "Yes  sir,"  with  a  jerk  between  each  ex- 
clamation. The  amusing  rhyme  with  its  short  '..nes 
brings  many  a  parliamentary  speaker  before  my  mind's 
eye:— 

"Mr.  Tattat 
You  must  not  pat 
Your  arifuineiit.s  flat 
On  to  the  crown  of  another  man's  hat." 


182  LECTUKES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

This  is  near  akin  to  wliat  has  been  accurately  described 
as  the  f)i^iiMP"l^^^^^^®  style.  This  is  to  be  witnessed  very 
frequently,  and  consists  of  a  long  series  of  jerkings  of 
the  arm,  meant,  perhaps,  to  mcrease  emphasis,  but  really 
doing  nothing  whatever.  S^Deakers  of  this  sort  remind 
us  of  Moore's  conundrum,  "  Why  is  a  pump  like  Lord 
Castlereagh  ?  " 

"  Because  it  is  a  slender  tiling  of  wood, 
Tliat  np  and  down  its  awkward  arm  doth  sway, 
And  coolly  spout,  and  spout,  and  spout  away 
In  one  weali,  washy,  everlasting  flood," 

Occasionally  one  meets  with  a  saw-like  action,  in  which 
the  arm  seems  lengthened  and  contracted  alternately. 
This  motion  is  carried  out  to  perfection  when  the  orator 
leans  over  the  rail,  or  over  the  front  of  the  pulpit  and 
cuts  downward  at  the  people,  like  the  top  sawyer  oper- 
ating upon  a  piece  of  timber.  One  wonders  how  many 
planks  a  man  would  cut  in  the  time  if  he  were  really 
working  upon  wood  instead  of  sawing  the  air.  We  are 
all  grateful  for  converted  sawyers,  but  we  trust  they  will 
feel  at  liberty  to  leave  their  saws  behind  them. 

Much  the  same  may  be  said  for  the  numerous  ham- 
mer-men who  are  at  work  among  us,  who  pound  and 
smite  at  a  great  rate,  to  the  ruining  of  Bibles  and  the 
dusting  of  pulpit  cushions.  The  predecessors  of  these 
gentlemen  were  celebrated  by  Hudibras  in  the  oft-quoted 
lines, — - 


"And  pulpit  drum  ecclesiastic, 
Was  beat  with  fist  instead  of  stick." 


Their  one  and  only  action  is  to  hammer,  hammer,  ham- 


POSTURE,    ACTION,    GESTURE,    ETC. 


183 


whether 


theme 


mer,  -without  sense  or  reason, 
pleasing  or  pathetic.  Tliey 
preach  with  demonstration 
and  power,  but  evermore  the 
manifestation  is  the  same 
We  dare  not  say  that  the} 
smite  with  the  fist  of  wicked- 
ness, but  certainly  they  do 
smite,  and  that  most  vigoi- 
ously.  They  set  forth  the 
sweet  influences  of  the  Pleiades 
and  the  gentle  wooings  of  hn  e 
with  blows  of  the  fist;  and  the} 
endeavor  to  make  you  feel  the 
beauty  and  the  tenderness  of 
their  theme  by  strokes  from  their  never-ceasing  ham- 
mer. 

Some  of  them  are  dull  enough  in  all  conscience,  and 
do  not  even  hammer  with  a  hearty  good  will,  and  then 
the  business  becomes  intolerable.  One  likes  to  hear  a 
good  noise,  and  see  a  man  go  in  for  hammering  vehe- 
mently, if  the  thing  must  be  done  at  all;  but  the  gentleman 
we  have  in  our  mind  seldom  or  never  warms  to  his  work, 
and  merely  smites  because  it  is  the  way  of  him.    . 

"  You  can  liear  him  swing  liis  heavy  sledge, 
Witii  measured  beat  and  slow." 


If  a  man  must  strike,  let  him  do  it  in  earnest;  but  there 
is  no  need  for  perpetual  pounding.  There  are  better 
ways  of  becoming  striking  preachers  than  by  imitating 
the  divine  of  whom  his  precentor  said  that  he  had  dashed 
the  inwards  out  of  one  Bible  and  was  far  gone  with  an- 
other.     In  certain  old  Latin  MS.  sermons,  with  notes 


184  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

in  the  margin,  the  iDreacher  is  recommen.ded  to  shake 
the  crucifix,  and  to  hammer  upon  the  pulpit  like  Satan 
himself!  By  this  means  he  was  to  collect  his  thoughts; 
but  one  would  not  give  much  for  thoughts  thus  collected. 
Have  any  of  our  friends  seen  these  manuscripts  and 
fallen  in  love  with  the  directions?  It  would  seem 
so. 

Now,  the  jerking,  sawing,  pumping,  and  pounding- 
might  all  be  endurable  and  even  appropriate  if  they  were 
blended  ;  but  the  perpetual  iteration  of  any  one -becomes 
wearisome  and  unmeaning.  The  figures  of  Mandarins 
in  a  tea-shop,  continually  nodding  their  heads,  and  the 
ladies  in' wax  which  revolve  with  uniform  motions  in  the 
hair-dresser's  window,  are  not  fit  models  for  men  who 
have  before  them  the  earnest  work  of  winning  men  to 
grace  and  virtue.  You  ought  to  be  so  true,  so  real,  so 
deeply  in  earnest,  that  mere  mechanical  movements  will 
be  impossible  to  you,  and  everything  about  you  will 
betoken  life,  energy,  concentrated  faculty,  and  intense 
zeal. 

Another  method  of  the  grotesque  may  be  correctly 
called  the  laborious.  Certain  brethren  will  never  fail  in 
their  ministry  from  want  of  physical  exertion  :  when  they 
mount  the  rostrum  they  mean  hard  work,  and  before 
long  they  puff  and  blow  at  it  as  if  they  were  laborers 
working  by  the  piece.  They  enter  upon  a  sermon  Avith 
the  resolve  to  storm  their  way  through  it,  and  carry  aU 
before  them  :  the  kingdom  of  heaven  saffereth  violence 
with  them  in  another  sense  besides  that  which  is  intended 
in  Scripture.  "  How  is  your  new  minister  getting  on  ?  " 
said  an  inquiring  friend  to  a  rustic  hearer.  "  Oh,"  said 
the  man,  "  he's  sure  to  get  on,  for  he  drives  at  sin  as  if 
he  were  knocking  down  an  ox."  An  excellent  thing  to 
do  in  spirit,  but  not  to  be  jperformed  literally.     When  I 


POSTUKE,    ACTION,    GESTURE,   ETC.  185 

have  occasionally  heard  of  a  wild  brother  taking  off  his 
collar  aud  cravat,  upon  a  very  hot  day,  and  even  of  his 
going  so  far  as  to  divest  himself  of  his  coat,  I  have 
thought  that  he  was  only  putting  himself  into  a  condition 
which  the  physical-force  orator  might  desire,  for  he 
evidently  regards  a  sermon  as  a  battle  or  a  wrestling 
match.  An  Irish  thunderer  of  my  acquaintance  broke  a 
chair  during  a  declamation  against  Popery,  and  I  trem- 
bled for  the  table  also.  A  distinguished  actor,  who 
became  a  convert  and  a  preacher  late  in  life,  would  re- 
peatedly strike  the  table  or  floor  with  his  staff  when  he 
grew  warm  in  a  speech.  He  has  made  me  wish  to  close 
my  ears  when  the  smart  raps  of  his  cane  have  succeeded 
each  other  Avith  great  rapiditj^  and  growing  force.  What 
was  the  peculiar  use  of  the  noise  I  could  not  tell,  for  we 
were  all  awake,  and  his  voice  was  sufficiently  powerful. 
One  did  not  mind  it,  however,  from  the  grand  old  man, 
for  it- suited  the  "fine  frenzy"  of  his  whole-hearted 
enthusiasm,  but  the  noise  was  not  so  desirable  as  to  be 
largely  called  for  from  an}^  of  us. 

Laborious  action  is  freqviently  a  relic  of  the  jireacher's 
trade  m  former  days  :  as  an  old  hunter  cannot  quite  for- 
get the  hounds,  so  the  good  man  cannot  shake  off  the 
habits  of  the  shop.  One  brother  who  has  been  a  wheel- 
wright always  preaches  as  if  he  were  making  wheels. 
If  you  understand  the  art  of  wheelwrighting,  j^ou  can 
see  most  of  the  processes  illustrated  during  one  of  his 
liveliest  discourses.  You  can  detect  the  engineer  in 
another  friend,  the  cooper  in  a  third,  and  the  grocer  with 
his  scales  in  a  fourth.  A  brother  who  has  been  a  butcher 
is  pretty  sure  to  show  us  how  to  knock  down  a  bullock 
when  he  gets  at  all  argumentative.  As  I  have  watched 
the  discourse  jjroceed  from  strength  to  strength,  and  the 
preacher  has  warmed  to  his  work,  I  have  thought  to  my- 


180  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

self,  "  Here  comes  tlie  pole-axe,  there  goes  the  fat  ox, 
down  falls  the  prize  bullock."  Now,  these  reminiscences 
of  former  occupations  are  never  very  blameworthy,  and 
are  at  all  times  less  obnoxious  than  the  altogether  inex- 
cusable awkwardnesses  of  gentlemen  who  from  their 
youth  np  have  dwelt  in  the  halls  of  learning.  These  will 
sometimes  labor  quite  as  much,  but  with  far  less  like- 
ness to  useful  occupations ;  they  beat  the  air  and  work 
hard  at  doing  nothing.  Gentlemen  from  the  universities 
are  frequently  inore  hideous  in  their  action  than  com- 
monjolace  people  ;  perhaj^s  their  education  may  have 
deprived  them  of  confidence,  and  made  them  all  the  more 
fidgety  and  awkward. 

It  has  occurred  to  me  that  some  speakers  fancy  that 
they  are  beating  carpets,  or  chopping  sticks,  or  mincing 
sausage-meat,  or  patting  butter,  or  j^oking  their  fingers 
into  jDcople's  eyes.  Oh,  could  they  see  themselves  as 
others  see  them,  they  might  cease  thus  to  perform  before 
the  public,  and  save  their  bodily  exercise  for  other  oc- 
casions. After  all,  I  prefer  the  vigorous,  laborious  dis- 
plays to  the  more  easy  and  even  stately  airs  of  certain 
self-possessed  talkers.  One  rubs  his  hands  together  with 
abounding  self-satisfaction, 

"Washing  liis  hands  with  iuvisihle  soap 
In  imperceptible  water," 

*. 
and  meanwhile  utters  the  veriest  platitudes  with  the  air 

of   a  man  who  is  outdoing   Robert   Hall   or   Chalmers. 

Another  j^auses  and  looks  round  with  a  dignified  air,  as 

if  he   had   communicated  inestimable  information   to  a 

highly  favored  body  of  individuals  who  might  reasonably 

be  exj)ected  to  rise  in  a  state  of  intense  excitement  and 

express  their  overwhelming  sense  of  obligation.     Nothing 


POSTURE,    ACTION-,    GESTURE,    ETC.  187 

has  been  said  beyond  the  merest  schoolboy  talk  ;  but  the 
air  of  dignity,  the  attitude  of  authority,  the  very  tone  of 
the  man,  all  show  how  thoroughly  satisfied  he  is.  This 
is  not  laborious  preaching,  but  it  occurs  to  me  to  mention 
it  because  it  is  the  very  reverse,  and  is  so  much  more  to 
be  condemned.  A  few  simjjletons  are,  no  doubt,  imposed 
upon,  and  fancy  that  a  man  must  be  saying  something 
great  when  he  delivers  himself  in  a  jDompous  manner  ; 
hut  sensible  persons  are  at  first  amused  and  afterwards 
disgusted  with  the  big  manner,  ''a  la  grand  seigneur." 
One  of  the  great  advantages  of  our  College  training  is 
the  certainty  that  an  inflated  mannerism  is  sure  to  be 
abated  by  the  amiable- eagerness  with.  which_flIL  our  stu- 
dents delight  in  rescuing  a  brother  from  this  peril. 
Many  wind-bags  have  collapsed  in  this  room  beneath 
your  tender  handling,  never,  I  hope,  to  be  pufled  out  to 
their  former  dimensions.  There  are  some  in  the  min- 
istry of  all  the  churches  who  would  be  marvellously 
benefited  by  a  little  of  the  very  candid  if  not  savage 
criticisms  which  have  been  endured  by  budding  orators 
at  your  hands.  I  would  that  every  minister  who  has 
missed  such  an  instructive  martyrdom  could  find  a 
friend  sufiiciently  honest  to  point  out  to  him  any 
oddities  of  manner  into  which  he  may  insensibly  have 
fallen. 

But  here  we  must  not  overlook  another  laborious  ora- 
tor who  is  in  our  mind's  eye.  We  will  name  him  the 
perpetuaLmotion.  preacher,  who  is  all  action,  and  lifts  his 
finger,  or  waves  his  hand,  or  strikes  his  palm  at  every 
word.  He  is  never  at  rest  for  a  moment.  So  eager  is 
he  to  be  emphatic  that  he  effectually  defeats  his  object,  * 
for  where  every  word  is  emphasized  by  a  gesture  nothing 
whatever  is  emphatic.  This  brother  takes  off  men's 
minds  from  his  words  to  his  movements  :  the  eve  actu- 


188  LECTUEES   TO    MY   STUDENTS 

ally  carries  tiie  thoughts  away  from  the  ear,  and  so  a 
second  time  the  preacher's  end  is  missed.  This  continual 
motion  greatly  agitates  some  hearers,  and  gives  them  the 
fidgets,  and  no  wonder,  for  avIio  can  endure  to  see  such 
incessant  patting,  and  j^ointing,  and  waving  ?  In  action, 
as  well  as  everything  else,  "  let  your  moderation  he 
known  unto  all  men." 

Thus  I  have  mentioned  three  species  of  the  grotesque 
— the  stiff,  the  mechanical,  and  the  laborious — and  I  have 
also  glanced  at  the  lazily  dignified.  I  Avill  close  the  list 
by  mentioning  two  others.  There  is  the  martial,  which 
also  sufiiciently  borders  on  the  grotesque  to  be  placed  in 
this  category.  Some  preachers  appear  to  be  fighting  the 
good  tight  of  faith  every  time  they  stand  before  a  con- 
gregation. They  put  themselves  into  a  fencing  attitude, 
and  either  stand  on  guard  against  an  imaginary  foe,  or 
else  assault  the  unseen  adversary  with  stern  determina- 
tion. They  could  not  look  more  fierce  if  they  were  at 
the  head  of  a  regiment  of  cavalry,  nor  seem  more  satisfied 
at  the  end  of  each  division  of  discourse  if  they  had  fought 
a  series  of  Waterloos.  They  turn  their  heads  on  one  side 
with  a  triumjDliant  air,  as  if  about  to  say — "  I  have  routed 
that  enemy,  and  we  shall  hear  no  more  of  Mm." 

The  last  singularity  of  action  which  I  shall  place  under 
this  head  is  the  ill  timed.  In  this  case  the  hands  do  not 
keep  time  with  the  lips.  The  good  brother  is  a  little  be- 
hindhand with  his  action,  and  therefore  the  whole  ojjer- 
ation  is  out  of  order.  You  cannot  at  first  make  the  man 
oiit  at  aU:  he  appears  to  chop  and  thump  without  rhyme 
or  reason,  but  at  last  you  perceive  that  his  present  action 
•is  quite  appropriate  to  what  he  said  a  few  seconds  before. 
The  effect  is  strange  to  the  last  degree.  It  puzzles  those 
who  do  not  possess  the  key  to  it,  and  when  fully  under- 
stood it  loses  none  of  its  oddness. 


POSTTJEE,    ACTION,    GESTURE,   ETC.  189 

Besides  these  oddities,  there  is  a  class  of  action  which 
must,  to  use  the  mildest 
term,  be  described  as  al- 
together ^(gly.  For  these 
a  platform  is  "  generally 
necessary,"  for  a  man  can- 
not make  himself  so  thor- 
oughly ridiculous  when  ^sj 
concealed  in  a  pulpit.  To : 
grasp  a  rail,  and  to  drop, 
down  lower  and  lower  till'^^B 
you  almost  touch  the 
ground  is  supremely  absui'd.  It  may  be  a  proj)er  position 
as  a  prelude  to  an  agile  gymnastic  feat,  but  as  an  accom- 
paniment to  eloquence  it  is  monstrous;  yet  have  I  seen  it 
more  then  once.  I  have  found  it  difficult  to  convey  to 
"my  artist  the  extraordinary  position,  but  the  woodblock 
may  help  to  show  what  is  meant,  and  also  to  render  the 
attitude  obsolete.  One  or  two  brethren  have  disported 
themselves  upon  my  platform  In  this  queer  manner,  and 
they  are  quite  welcome  to  do  the  same  again,  if  upon  see- 
ing themselves  thus  roughly  sketched  they  consider  the 
posture  to  be  commanding  and  impressive.  It  would  be 
far  better  for  such  remarkable  performers  if  it  were  re- 
ported of  them  as  of  the  great  Wesley  an,  Richard  "Watson: 
"He  stood  perfectly  erect,  and  nearly  all  the  action  that 
he  used  was  a  slight  motion  of  the  right  hand,  with  occa- 
sionally a  significant  shake  of  the  head." 

Tlie  habit  of  shrugging  the  shoulders  has  been  allowed 
to  tyrannize  over  some  preachers.  A  number  of  men  are 
round-shouldered  by  nature,  and  many  more  seem  deter- 
mined to  appear  so,  for  when  they  have  anything  weighty 
to  deliver  they  back  themselves  up  by  elevating  their 
backs.     An  excellent  preacher  at  Bristol,  lately  deceased, 


190 


LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 


Avould  bunch  first  one  shoulder  and  then  another  as  his 
great  thoughts  struggled  forth,  and  when  they  obtained 
utterance  he  looked  like  a  hunchback  till  the  effort  was 

over.  What  a  pity  that  such  a 
habit  had  become  inveterate! 
How  desirable  to  avoid  its 
formation!  Quinctilian  says: 
"Some  people  raise  wp  their 
shoulders  in  speaking,  but  this 
is  a  fault  in  gesture.  Demos- 
thenes, in  order  to  cure  him- 
self or  it,  used  to  stand  in  a 
narrow  pulpit,  and  practise 
speaking  with  a  spear  hanging 
over  his  shoulder,  in  such  a 
manner  that  if  in  the  heat  of 
delivery  he  failed  to  avoid  this 
fault,  he  would  be  corrected 
by  hurting  himself  against  the 
point."  This  is  a  sharp  remedy,  but  the  gain  would  be 
worth  an  occasional  wovmd  if  men  who  distort  the  human 
form  could  thus  be  cured  of  the  fault. 

At  a  public  meeting  upon  one  occasion  a  gentleman 
who  appeared  to  be  very  much  at  home  and  to  speak 
with  a  great  deal  of  familiar  superiority,  placed  his  hands 
behind  him  under  his  coat  tails,  and  thus  produced  a  very 
singular  figure,  especially  to  those  who  took  a  side  view 
from  the  platform,  As  the  speaker  became  more  animated, 
he  moved  his  tails  with  greater  frequency,  reminding  the 
observer  of  a  water-wagtail.  It  must  be  seen  to  be  ap- 
preciated, but  one  exhibition  will  be  enough  to  convince 
any  sensible  man  that  however  graceful  a  dress  coat  may 
be,  it  by  no  means  ministers  to  the  solemnity  of  the  occa- 
sion to  see  the  tails  of  that  garment  projecting  fi'om  the 


POSTURE,    ACTION,    GESTURE,    ETC.  19] 

orator's  rear. '  "Yoti  ma}'  also  have  seeu  at  meetings  the 
gentleman  who  places  his  hands  on  his  hips,  and  either 
looks  as  if  he  defied  all  the  world,  or  as  if  he  endured 
considerable  pain.  This  position  savors  of  Billingsgate 
and  its  fish-women  far  more  than  of  sacred  eloquence. 
The  arms  "  a  kimho"  I  think 
they  call  it,  and  the  ver}'  sound 
of  the  word  suggests  the  ridic- 
ulous rather  than  the  sublime. 
"We  may  drop  into  it  for  the 
moment  rightly  enough,  but  to 
deliver  a  speech  in  that  posture  is 
preposterous.  It  is  even  worse 
to  stand  with  your  hands  in  your 
trousers  like  the  jaeople  one  sees 
at  French  railway  stations,  who' 
J^)robably  thrust  their  hands  in- 
to their  pockets  because  there  -  - 
is  nothing  else  there,  and  nat-     ^.  \  ,    i< 

ure  abhors  a  vacuum.  For  a  '''^  i?.:-''i;U'(!?iiiia'^ 
finger  iu  the  waistcoat  pocket  for  a  moment  no  one  will 
be  blamed,  but  to  thrust  the  hands  into  the  trousers  is 
outrageous.  An  utter  contemjjt  for  audience  and  subject 
must  have  been  felt  before  a  man  could  come  to  this. 
Gentlemen,  because  you  are  gentlemen,  you  wiU  never 
need  to  be  warned  of  this  practice,  for  you  will  not  de- 
scend to  it.  Once  in  a  while  before  a  superfinely  genteel 
and  affected  audience  a  man  may  be  tempted  to  shock 
their  foohsh  gentility  by  a  freedom  and  easiness  which  is 
meant  to  be  the  protest  of  a  brusque  manliness;  but  to  see 
a  man  preach  the  gospel  with  his  hands  in  his  pockets 
does  not  remind  you  of  either  a  prophet  or  an  apostle- 
There  are  brethren  who  do  this  ever  and  anon  who  can 
afford  to  do  it  from  theii-  general  force  of  character:  these 


192 


LECTURES    TO    MY    STUDENTS. 


are  the  very  men  who  should  do  nothing  of  the  kind,  be- 
cause their  example  is  powerful,  and  they  are  somewhat 
responsible  for  the  weaklings  who  copy  them. 

Another  unseemly  style  is  nearly  allied  to  the  last, 
though  it  is  not  quite  so  objectionable.  It  may  be  seen 
at  public  dinners  of  the  common  order,  where  white 
waistcoats  need  a  little  extra  display,  and  at  gatherings 
of  artisans  where  an  employer  has  given  his  men  a  treat 
and  is  responding  to  the  toast  of  "the  firm."  Occasion- 
ally it  is  exhibited  at  religious  meetings,  where  the  speaker 

is  a  man  of  local  im- 
portance, and  feels 
that  he  is  monarch  of 
all  he  surveys.  In 
this  case  the  thumbs 
are  inserted  in  arm- 
holes  of  the  waist- 
coat, and  the  speaker 
throws  back  his  coat 
and  reveals  the  lower 
part  of  the  vest.  I 
have  called  this  the 
penguin  style,  and  I  am  unable  to  find  a  better  comparison. 
For  a  footman  or  a  coachman  at  a  soiree,  or  for  a  member 
of  the  United  Order  of  Queer  Fellows,  this  attitude  may 
be  suitable  and  dignified,  and  a  venerable  sire  at  a  family 
gathering  ma}'  talk  to  his  boys  and  girls  in  that  position; 
but  for  a  public  speaker,  and  much  more  for  a  minister, 
as  a  general  habit,  it  is  as  much  out  of  character  as  a  post- 
ure can  be. 

First  cousin  to  this  fashion  is  that  of  holding  on  to  the 
coat  near  the  collar,  as  if  the  speaker  considered  it  neces- 
sary to  hold  himself  well  in  hand.  Some  grasp  firmly,  and 
then   run  the  hands  up  and  down,  as  if  they  meant  to 


POSTURE,    ACTION,    GESTURE,    ETC.  193 

double  the  coat  in  a  new  place,  or  to  lengthen  the  collar. 
They  aj)pear  to  hang  upon  their  coat-fronts  like  a  man 
clutching  at  two  ropes:  one  wonders  the  garment  does 
not  split  at  the  back  of  the  neck.  This  practice  adds 
nothing  to  the  force  or  perspicuity  of  a  speaker's  style 
and  its  probable  signiiication  is,  "  I  am  quite  at  ease,  and 
greatly  enjoy  hearing  my  own  voice." 

As  it  would  be  well  to  stamp  out  as  many  uglinesses 
as  jjossible,  I  shall  mention  even  those  which  are  some- 
what rare.  1  remember  an  able  minister  who  was  accus- 
tomed to  look  into  the  palm  of  his  left  hand  while  with 
his  right  he  appeared  to  pick  out  his  ideas  therefrom. 
Divisions,  illustrations  and  teUing  points  all  seemed  to  be 
growing  in  his  palm  like  so  many  flowers;  and  these  he 
seemed  carefully  to  take  up  by  the  roots  one  by  one  and 
exhibit  to  tha  people.  It  mattered  little,  for  his  thought 
was  of  a  high  order  of  excellence,  but  yet  the  action  was 
b}'  no  means  graceful. 

A  preacher  of  no  mean  order  was  wont  to  lift  his  fist 
to  his  brow  and  to  tap  his  forehead  gently,  as  if  he  must 
needs  knock  at  the  mind's  door  to  wake  up  his  thoughts: 
this  also  was  more  peculiar  than  forcible. 

To  point  into  the  left  hand  with  the  first  finger  of 
the  right,  as  if  boring  small  holes  into  it,  or  to  use 
the  aforesaid  pointed  finger  as  if  you  were  stabbing 
the  air,  is  another  freak  of  action  which  has  its  amusing 
side. 

Passing  the  hand  over  the  brow  when  the  thought  is 
deep,  and  exact  word  is  not  easy  to  find,  is  a  very  natural 
motion,  but  scratching  the  head  is  by  no  means  equally 
advisable,  though  perhaps  quite  as  natural.  I  have  seen 
this  last  piece  of  action  carried  to  considerable  lengths, 
but  I  was  never  enamoured  of  it. 


194 


LECTURES    TO    MY    STUDENTS, 


I  cannot  avoid  mentioning  an  accidental  grotesqueness 
which  is  exceedingly  common. 
Some  brethren  always  lay  down 
the  law  with  an  outspread 
hand,  which  they  move  up  and 
down  with  the  rhythm  of 
every  sentence.  Now  this  ac- 
tion is  excellent  in  its  way,  if 
not  carried  on  too  monoton- 
ously, but  unfortunately  it  is 
liauie  to  accidents.  If  the  ear- 
nest orator  continues  to  lift  his 
hand  upward  and  downward 
he  is  in  great  danger  of  fre- 
quently presenting  the  aspect 
which  my  artist  has  depicted. 
The  action  verges  upon  the  symbolic,  but  unhappily  the 
s^unbol  has  been  somewhat  vulgarized,  and  has  been  de- 
scribed as  "putting  the  thumb  of  scorn  to  the  nose  of  con- 
tempt." Some  men  unwittingly  perpetrate  this  a  score 
of  times  during  a  discourse. 

You  have  laughed  at  these  portraits  which  I  have 
drawn  for  j'our  edification — take  care  that  no  one  has  to 
laugh  at  you  because  you  fall  into  these  or  similar 
absurdities  of  action. 

I  must  confess,  however,  that  I  do  not  think  so  badly 
of  any  of  these,  or  all  of  them  put  together,  as  I  do  of 
tlie  superfine  style,  which  is  utterly  des2:)icable  and 
abominable.  It  is  worse  than  the  commonly  vulgar,  for 
it  is  the  very  essence  of  vulgarity,  flavored  with  affecta- 
tious  and  airs  of  gentility.  Rowland  Hill  sketched  the 
thing  which  I  condemn  in  his  portrait  of  Mr.  Taplash; 
of  course  it  was  a  more  correct  representation  as  to  de- 
fail  fifty  years  ago  than  it  is  now,  but  in  thg  main  fea- 


POSTURE,    ACTION^,    GESTURE,    ETC.  195 

tures  it  is  still  sufficiently  accurate:  "The  orator,  when 
he  first  made  his  appearance,  would  be  primmed  and 
dressed  up  in  the  most  finished  style;  not  a  hair  would 
be  found  out  of  jDlace  on  his  empty  pate,  on  which  the 
barber  had  been  exercising  his  occupation  all  the  Sun- 
day morning,  and  powdered  till  as  white  as  the  driven 
snow.  Thus  elegantly  decorated,  and  smelling  like  a 
civet-cat,  through  an  abundance  of  perfumery,  he  would 
scent  the  air  as  he  passed.  Then  with  a  most  conceited 
skijD,  he  would  step  into  the  j)ulpit,  as  though  stepping 
out  of  a  band-box;  and  here  he  had  not  only  to  display  his 
elegant  production,  but  his  elegant  self  also :  his  delicate 
white  hand,  exhibiting  his  diamond  ring,  while  his  richly- 
scented  white  handkerchief  was  unfurled,  and  managed 
with  remarkable  dexterity  and  art.  His  smelling-bottle 
was  next  occasionally  presented  to  his  nose,  giving  dif- 
ferent oj^portunities  to  display  his  sparkling  ring.  Thus 
having  adjusted  the  important  business  of  the  handker- 
chief and  the  smelling-bottle,  he  had  next  to  take  out  his 
glass,  that  he  might  reconnoitre  the  fair  part  of  his  audi- 
tory, with  whom  he  might  have  been  gallanting  and  en- 
tertaining them  with  his  cheap  talk  the  day  before:  and 
these,  as  soon  as  he  could  catch  their  eye,  he  would 
favor  with  a  simjiering  look,  and  a  graceful  nod." 

This  is  a  pungent  prose  version  of  Cowper's  review  of 
certain  "messengers  of  grace"  who  "  relapsed  into  them- 
selves" when  the  sermon  was  ended :  very  little  selves 
they  must  have  been. 

"  Forth  comes  the  pocket  mirror.     First  we  stroke 
An  eyebrow  ;  next  compose  a  stnijjfsling  lock  ; 
Then  with  an  air,  most  gracefully  performed, 
Fall  back  into  our  seat,  extend  an  arm 
And  lay  it  at  its  ease  with  gentle  care, 
With  handkerchief  in  hand  depending  low. 


196  LECTURES   TO    MT   STUDENTS. 

The  better  liand  more  busy  gives  the  nose 
Its  bei'gamot,  or  aids  the  indebted  eye, 
With  opera  glass,  to  watch  the  moving  scene. 
And  recognize  the  slow  retiring  fair. — 
Now  this  is  fulsome,  and  offends  me  more 
Than  in  a  churchman  slovenly  neglect 
And  rustic  coarseness  would," 

"  Bustic  coarseness"  is  quite  refreshing  after  one  has 
been  wearied  with  inane  primness.  Well  did  Cicero  ex- 
hort orators  to  adopt  their  gestures  rather  from  the 
camp  or  the  wrestling  ring  then  from  the  dancers  with 
their  effeminate  niceties.  Manliness  must  never  be  sac- 
rificed to  elegance.  Our  working  classes  will  never  be 
brought  even  to  consider  the  truth  of  Christianity  by 
teachers  who  are  starched  and  fine.  The  British  artisan 
admires  manliness,  and  prefers  to  lend  his  ear  to  one 
who  speaks  in  a  hearty  and  natural  style :  indeed,  work- 
ing men  of  all  nations  are  more  likely  to  be  struck  by  a 
brave  negligence  than  by  a  foppish  attention  to  personal 
appearances.  The  story  told  by  the  Abbe  Mullois  is,  we 
susj^ect,  only  one  of  a  numerous  class.*  A  converted 
Parisian  operative,  a  man  of  a  wilful  but  frank  disjjosi- 
tion,  full  of  energy  and  spirit,  who  had  often  spoken 
with  great  success  at  the  clubs  composed  of  men  of  his 
own  class,  was  asked  by  the  preacher  who  had  led  him 
to  God,  to  inform  him  by  what  instrumentality  he,  who 
had  once  been  so  far  estranged  from  religion,  had  event- 
ually been  restored  to  the  faith.  "  Your  doing  so," 
said  his  interrogator,  "may  be  useful  to  me  in  my  efforts 
to  reclaim  others." 

"I  would  rather  not,"  replied  he,  "for   I  must    caii- 

*  M.  L'Abbe  Isidore  Mullois,  in  his  work,  "  The  Clergy  and 
the  Pulpit  in  their  Relations  to  the  People." 


POSTURE,  ACTION,    GESTURE,   ETC.  197 

didly  tell  you  that  you  do  uot  figure  very  conspicuously 
in  the  case." 

"No  matter,"  said  the  other,  "it  will  not  be  the  first 
time  that  I  have  heard  the  same  remark. " 

"  Well,  if  you  must  hear  it,  I  can  tell  you  in  a  few 
words  how  it  took  place.  A  good  woman  had  pestered 
me  to  read  your  little  book — pardon  the  exjDression,  I 
ased  to  speak  in  that  style  in  those  days.  On  reading  a 
few  pages,  I  was  so  impressed  that  I  felt  a  strong  desire 
to  see  you. 

"I  was  told  that  you  preached  in  a  certain  church,  and 
I  went  to  hear  you.  Your  sermon  had  some  further 
effect  upon  me;  but,  to  sjDcak  frankly,  very  little  com- 
paratively, indeed,  none  at  all.  What  did  much  moi'e  for 
me  was  your  open,  and  simple,  and  good  natured  man- 
ner, and,  above  all,  your  ill-combed  hair; /or  I  have  always 
detested  those  priests  whose  heads  remind  one  of  a  hair- 
dresser's assistant;  and  I  said  to  myself,  'That  man  forgets 
himself  on  our  behalf,  we  ought,  therefore,  to  do  some- 
thing for  his  sake.'  Thereupon  I  determined  to  pay  you 
a  visit,  and  you  bagged  me.  Such  was  the  beginning  and 
end  of  the  affair." 

There  are  silly  young  ladies  who  are  in  raptures  with 
a  dear  young  man  whose  main  thought  is  his  pre- 
cious person;  these,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  are  becoming 
fewer  ever  day:  but  as  for  sensible  men,  and  especially 
the  sturdy  workmen  of  our  great  cities,  they  utterly 
abhor  foppery  in  a  minister.  Wherever  you  see  affectation 
you  find  at  once  a  barrier  between  that  man  and  the 
common-sense  multitude.  Few  ears  are  delighted  with 
the  voices  of  peacocks. 

It  is  a  pity  that  we  cannot  persuade  all  ministers  to  bo 
men,  for  it  is  hard  to  see  how  otherwise  the}'  will  be  truly 
men  of  God.     It  is  equally  to  be  deplored  that  we  can- 


198  LECTURES    TO    MY    STUDENTS. 

not  induce  preachers  to  speak  and  gesticulate  like  other 
sensible  persons,  for  it  is  impossible  that  they  should 
grasp  the  masses  till  they  do.  All  foreign  matters  of 
attitude,  tone  or  dress  are  barricades  between  us  and  the 
people:  we  must  talk  like  men  if  we  would  win  men. 
The  late  revival  of  millinery  in  the  Anglican  Church  is 
for  this  reason,  as  well  as  for  far  graver  ones,  a  stej)  in  the 
wrong  direction.  A  hundred  years  ago  the  dressiness 
of  the  clergy  was  about  as  conspicuous  as  it  is  now,  but 
it  had  no  doctrinal  meaning,  and  was  mere  foppery, 
if  Lloyd  is  to  be  believed  in  his  "  Metrical  Plea  for 
Curates." 

He  abuses  rectors  very  heartily,  and  among  the  rest 
describes  a  canonical  beau: — 

"Behold  Nugoso!  wriggling,  shuffling  on, 
A  mere  church-puppet,  an  automaton 
In  orders:    note  its  tripping,   mincing  pace, 
Religion  creams  and  mantles  in  its  face! 
It's  all  religion  from  the  top  to  toe! 
But  milliners  and  barbers  made  it  so. 
It  wears  reKgion  in  the  modish  way, 
It  brushes,  starches,  combs  it  every  day: 
Its  orthodoxy  lies  in  outward  things, 
In  beavers,  cassocks,  gowns,  bands,  gloves,  and  rings: 
It  shows  its  learning  by  its  doctor's  hood, 
And  proves  its  goodness, — 'cause  its  clothes  are  good." 

This  fondness  for  comely  array  led  to  a  stiff  proj)riety  in 
the  pulj)it:  they  called  it  "dignity,"  and  prided  themselves 
upon  it.  Propriety  and  decorum  were  their  chief  con- 
cern, and  these  were  mingled  with  pomjDosity  or  foolish 
simpering,  according  to  the  creature's  peculiarities,  until 
honest  men  grew  weary  of  their  hollow  performances 
and  turned  away  from  such  stilted  ministrations.  The 
preachers  were  too  much  concerned  to  be  proper  to  have 


POSTURE,    ACTION,    GESTURE,    ETC.  199 

any  concern  to  be  useful.  The  gestures  which  would 
have  made  their  words  a  little  more  intelligible  they  would 
not  condescend  to  use,  for  what  cared  they  for  the  vul- 
gar '?  If  persons  of  taste  were  satisfied,  they  had  all  the 
reward  they  desired,  and  meanwhile  the  multitudes  were 
perishing  for  lack  of  knowledge.  God  save  us  from  fine 
deportment  and  genteel  propriety,  if  these  are  to  keep 
the  masses  in  alienation  from  the  public  worship  of 
God. 

In  our  own  day  this  sickening  affectation  is,  W3  hope, 
far  more  rare,  but  it  stni  survives.  We  had  the  honor 
of  knowing  a  minister  who  could  not  preach  without  his 
black  kid  gloves,  and  when  he  upon  one  occasion  found 
himself  in  a  certain  pulpit  without  them,  he  came  down 
into  the  vestry  for  them.  Unfortunately  one  of  the 
deacons  had  carried  into  his  pew,  not  his  own  hat,  as  he 
intended,  but  the  preacher's,  and  while  this  discovery  was 
being  made,  the  divine  was  in  terrible  trepidation,  ex- 
claiming, "  I  never  do  preach  without  gloves.  I  cannot 
do  it.  I  cannot  go  into  the  pluj^it  till  you  find  them." 
I  wish  he  never  had  found  them,  for  he  was  more  fitted 
to  stand  behind  a  draper's  counter  than  to  occupy  the 
sacred  desk.  Slovenliness  of  any  sort  is  to  be  avoided  in 
a  minister,  but  manliness  more  often  falls  into  this  fatdt 
than  into  the  other  effeminate  vice ;  therefore  shun  most 
heartily  this  worst  error.     Cowper  says, 

"  In  my  soul  I  loathe  all  affectation," 

and  so  does  every  sensible  man.  All  tricks  and  stage 
effects  are  unbearable  when  the  message  of  the  Lord  is  to 
be  deUvered.  Better  a  ragged  dress  and  rugged  speech, 
with  artless,  honest  manner,  than  clerical  foppery. 
Better  far  to  violate  every  canon  of  gracefulness  than  to 
be  a  mere  performer,  a  consummate  actor,  a,  player  upon 


200 


LECTURES    TO   MY    STUDENTS. 


a  religious  stage.  Tlie  caricaturist  of  twenty  years  ago 
favored  me  with  the  name  of  Brimstone,  and  placed  side 
l)y  side  with  me  a  simpering  elocutionist  whom  he  named 
Treacle.  I  was  thououghly  satisfied  with  my  lot,  but  I 
could  not  have  said  as  much  if  I  had  been  represented  b}' 
the  companion  portrait.  Molasses  and  other  sugary 
matters  are  sickening  to  me.  Jack-a-dandy  in  the  pulpit 
makes  me  feel  as  Jehu  did  when  he  saw  Jezebel's  decor- 
ated head  and  painted  face,  and  cried  in  indignation, 
"  Fling  her  down." 


BRIMSTONE 


It  would  greatly  trouble  me  if  any  of  my  rercarks  upon 
grotesque  action  should  lead  even  one  of  yon  to  com- 
mence posturing  and  performing;  this  would  be  to  fl}" 
from  bad  to  worse.  We  mentioned  that  Dr.  Hamilti  n 
took  lessons  from  a  master,  in  order  to  escape  from  his  m- 
firmity,  but  the  result  was  manifestly  not  very  encour- 
aging, and  I  gravely  fear  that  more  faults  are  created 
than  cured  by  professional  teachers:  perhaps  the  same 
result  may  follow  from  my  own  amateur  attempt,  but  I 
would  at  least  prevent  that  misfortune  as  far  as  possible 
by   earnest  warnings.     Do  not  think   of   how  you   will 


I'OSTU-RE,    ACTION,    GESTURE,    ETC.  201 

gesticulate   when  you  preach,  but  learn  tlie  art  of  doiug 
the  right  thing  without  giving  it  any  thought  at  all. 

Our  last  rule  is  one  which  sums  up  all  the  others;  he 
natural  in  your  action.  Shun  the  very  appearance  of 
studied  gesture.  Art  is  cold,  only  nature  is  warm;  let 
grace  keep  you  clear  of  aU  seeming,  and  in  every  action, 
and  in  every  place,  be  truthful,  even  if  you  should  be 
considered  rough  and  uncultivated.  Your  mannerism 
must  always  be  your  own,  it  must  never  be  a  polished 
lie,  and  what  is  the  aping  of  gentility,  the  simulation  of 
passion,  the  feigning  of  emotion,  or  the  mimicry  of 
another  man's  mode  of  delivery  but  a  practical  lie. 

"  Therefore,  avaimt  all  attitude  and  stare, 

And  start  tlieatric,  inactised  at  the  glass !" 

» 

Our  object  is  to  remove  the  excrescences  of  uncouth  na- 
ture, not  to  produce  artificiality  and  affectation;  we 
wovdd  prune  the  tree  and  by  no  means  clip  it  into  a  set 
form.  We  would  have  our  students  think  of  action 
while  they  are  with  us  at  college,  that  they  may  never 
have  need  to  think  of  it  in  after  days.  The  matter  is  too 
inconsiderable  to  be  made  a  part  of  your  weekly  study 
when  you  get  into  the  actual  battle  of  ministerial  life; 
you  must  attend  to  the  subject  now,  and  have  done  with 
it.  You  are  not  sent  of  God  to  court  smiles  but  to  win 
souls;  your  teacher  is  not  the  dancing-master,  but  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  your  pulpit  manner  is  only  worth  a 
moment's  thought  because  it  may  hinder  your  success 
by  causing  people  to  make  remarks  about  the  preacher 
when  you  want  all  their  thoughts  for  the  subject.  If  the 
best  action  had  this  effect  I  would  urge  you  to  forswear 
it,  and  if  the  worst  gestures  would  prevent  such  a  result 
I  would  advise  you  to  practice  them.  All  that  I  aim  at 
is  to  advocate  quiet,  graceful,  natural  movements,  be- 


202  LECTURES    TO    MY    STUDENTS. 

cause  they  are  the  least  likely  to  be  observed.  The 
whole  business  of  delivery  slit)uld  be  one ;  everything 
should  harmonize;  the  thought,  the  spirit,  tlie  language, 
the  tone,  and  the  action  shoultLbe  all  of  a  piece,  and  the 
whole  should  be,  not  for  the  winning  of  honor  to 
ourselves,  but  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  good 
of  men;  if  it  be  so  there  is  no  fear  of  your  violating 
the  rule  as  to  being  natural,  for  it  will  not  occur 
to  you  to  be  otherwise.  Yet  have  I  one  fear,  and  it  is 
this:  you  may  fall  into  a  foolish  imitation  of  some  ad- 
mired minister,  and  this  will  to  some  extent  put  you  off 
from  the  right  track.  Each  man's  action  should  suit 
himself  and  grow  out  of  his  own  personality.  The  style 
of  Dr.  Goliath,  who  is  six  feet  high,  will  not  fit  the 
statui'e  and  person  of  our  friend  Short,  who  is  a  Zaccheus 
among  preachers;  neither  will  the  resjDectable  manner- 
ism of  an  aged  and  honored  divine  at  all  befit  the 
youthful  A  polios  who  is  barely  out  of  his  teens.  I  have 
heard  that  for  a  season  quite  a  number  of  young  Con- 
gregational ministers  imitated  the  pastor  of  the  "Weigh 
House,  and  so  there  were  little  Binneys  everywhere 
copying  the  great  Thomas  in  ever^'thing  excej)t  his 
thoughtful  preaching.  A  rumor  is  current  that  there 
are  one  or  two  young  Si:»urgeons  about,  but  if  so  I  hope 
that  the  reference  is  to  my  own  sons,  who  have  a  right 
to  the  name  by  birth.  If  any  of  you  become  mere  coj^y- 
ists  of  me  I  shall  regard  you  as  thorns  in  the  flesh,  and 
rank  you  among  those  whom  Paul  says  "we  suffer 
gladly."  Yet  it  has  been  wisely  said  that  every  beginner 
must  of  necessity  be  for  a  time  a  copyist;  the  artist  fol- 
lows his  master  while  as  yet  he  has  barely  acquired  the 
elements  of  the  art,  and  perhaps  for  life  he  remains  a 
painter  of  the  school  to  which  he  at  first  attached  him- 
self;   but  as  he  becomes  proficient  he  develoj)s  his  own 


POSTURE,    ACTIOX,    GESTURE,    ETC. 


203 


individuality,  grows  into  a  painter  with  a  style  of  Lis 
own,  and  is  all  the  better  and  none  the  worse  for  having 
been  in  his  earliest  days  content  to  sit  at  a  master's  feet. 
It  is  of  necessity  the  same  in  oratory,  and  therefore  it 
may  be  too  much  to  say  never  cojoy  any  one,  but  it  may 
be  better  to  exhort  you  to  imitate  the  best  action  you 
can  find,  in  order  that  your  own  style  during  its  forma- 
tion may  be  rightly  moulded.  Correct  the  influence  of 
any  one  man  by  what  you  see  of  excellence  in  others; 
but  still  create  a  manner  of  your  own.  Slavish  imitation 
is  the  practice  of  an  ape,  but  to  follow  another  where  he 
leads  aright,  and  there  only,  is  the  wisdom  of  a  prudent 
man.  Still  never  let  a  natural  originality  be  missed  by 
your  imitating  the  best  models  of  antiquity,  or  the  most 
esteemed  among  the  moderns. 

In  conclusion,  do  not  allow  my  criticisms  ujion  various 
grotesque  postures  and  movements  to  haunt  j-ou  in  the 
pulpit;  better  perpetrate  them  aU  than  be  in  fear,  for 
this  would  make  you  cramj^ed 
and  awkward.  Dash  at  it 
whether  you  blunder  or  no.  A , 
few  mistakes  in  this  matter  will 
not  be  half  so  bad  as  being  ner- 
vous. It  may  be  that  what 
would  be  eccentric  in  another 
may  be  most  proper  m  you; 
therefore  take  no  man's  dictum 
as  applicable  to  every  case,  or  to 
your  own.  See  how  John  Knox 
is  pictured  in  the  well-known 
engraving.  Is  his  posture 
graceful  ?  PerhajDS  not.  Yet  is  it  not  exactly  what  it  should 
be  ?  Can  you  find  any  fault  with  it  ?  Is  it  not  Knox-like, 
and  full  of  power  ?     It  would  not  suit  one  man  in  fifty;  in 


204  LECTUEES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

most  preachers  it  would  seem  strained,  but  in  the  great 
Reformer  it  is  characteristic,  and  accords  with  his  Ufe- 
work.  You  must  remember  the  person,  the  times  and 
his  surroundings,  and  then  the  mannerism  is  seen  to  be 
well  becoming  a  hero-j)reacher  sent  to  do  an  Elijah's 
work,  and  to  utter  his  rebukes  in  the  presence  of  a 
Popish  court  which  hated  the  reforms  which  he  de- 
manded. Be  yourself  as  he  was  himself;  even  if  you 
should  be  ungainly  and  awkward,  be  yourself.  Your 
own  clothes,  though  they  be  homespun,  will  fit  you  bet- 
ter than  another  man's,  though  made  of  the  best  broad- 
cloth; you  may  follow  your  tutor's  style  of  dress  if  you 
like,  but  do  not  borrow  his  coat,  be  content  to  wear  one 
of  3'our  own.  Above  all,  be  so  full  of  matter,  so  fervent, 
and  so  gracious  that  the  jieople  Avill  little  care  how  you 
hand  out  the  word ;  for  if  the_y  perceive  that  it  is  fresh 
from  heaven,  and  find  it  sweet  and  abundant,  they  will 
pay  little  regard  to  the  basket  in  which  you  bring  it  to 
them.  Let  them,  if  they  please,  say  that  your  bodily 
presence  is  weak,  but  pray  that  they  may  confess  that 
your  testimony  is  weighty  and  powerful.  Commend 
yourself  to  every  man's  conscience  in  the  sight  of  God, 
and  then  the  mere  mint  and  anise  of  posture  will  seldom 
be  taken  into  account. 


WliUe  preparing  this  lecture  it  occurred  to  me  to  copy 
a  plate  which  I  found  in  Austin's  Chtronomla,  in  the  hope 
that  it  may  afford  some  direction  to  young  speakers.  As 
my  lecture  mainly  shows  lioiv  not  to  do  it,  this  may  be  a 
little  help  in  the  positive  dii-ection.  Of  course  I  do  not 
recommend  that  so  much  action  should  be  used  in  recit- 


POSTURE,    ACTION,    GESTUKE,    ETC.  205 

ing  this  one  piece,  or  any  other;  but  I  would  suggest 
that  each  posture  should  be  considered  apart.  Most  of 
the  attitudes  are  natural,  striking  and  instructive.  I  do 
not  admire  them  all,  for  they  are  here  and  there  a  little 
forced,  but  as  a  whole  I  know  of  no  better  lesson  in  so 
short  a  compass,  and  being  in  verse  the  words  "wiJl  be 
the  more  easUy  remembered. 


207 


{S 
« 


^ 


209 


211 


S  *l:^ 


213 


LECTURE   VIII.  ' 

EARNESTNESS:    ITS  MAERING  AND  MAINTENANCE. 

If  I  were  asked — What  in  a  Christian  minister  is  the 
most  essential  quahty  for  securing  success  in  winning 
souls  for  Christ?  I  should  reply,  "earnestness":  and 
if  I  were  asked  a  second  or  a  third  time,  I  should  not 
vary  the  answer,  for  personal  observation  drives  me  to 
the  conclusion  that,  as  a  rule,  real  success  is  propor- 
tionate to  the  preacher's  earnestness.  Both  great  men 
and  little  men  succeed  if  they  are  thoroughly  alive  unto 
Cod,  and  fail  if  they  are  not  so.  "We  know  men  of  emi- 
nence who  have  gained  a  high  reputation,  who  attract 
large  audiences,  and  obtain  much  admiration,  who  never- 
theless are  very  low  in  the  scale  as  soul- winners :  for  aU 
they  do  in  that  direction  they  might  as  well  have  been 
lecturers  on  anatomy,  or  political  orators.  At  the  same 
time  we  have  seen  theii'  compeers  in  ability  so  useful  in 
the  business  of  conversion  that  evidently  their  acquire- 
ments and  gifts  have  been  no  hindrance  to  them,  but  the 
reverse;  for  by  the  intense  and  devout  use  of  their 
powers,  and  by  the  anointing  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  they 
have  turned  many  to  righteousness.  We  have  seen 
brethren  of  very  scanty  abilities  who  have  been  terrible 
drags  upon  a  church,  and  have  proved  as  inefficient  in 
their  spheres  as  blind  men  in  an  observatory;  but  on  the 
other  hand,  men  of  equally  small  attainments  are  well 

215 


21G  LECTURES    TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

known  to  us  as  mighty  hunters  before  the  Lord,  by 
whose  holy  energy  many  hearts  have  been  caj)tured  for 
the  Saviour.  I  dehght  in  M'Cheyne's  remark,  "  It  is  not 
so  much  great  talents  that  God  blesses,  as  great  likeness 
to  Christ."  In  many  instances  ministerial  success  is 
traceable  almost  entirely  to  an  intense  zeal,  a  consuming 
passion  for  souls,  and  an  eager  enthusiasm  in  the  cause 
of  God,  and  we  believe  that  in  every  case,  other  things 
being  equal,  men  prosper  in  the  divine  service  in  pro- 
portion as  their  hearts  are  blazing  with  holy  love.  "  The 
God  that  answereth  by  fire,  let  him  be  God";  and  the 
man  who  has  the  tongue  of  fire,  let  him  be  God's  min- 
ister. 

Brethren,  you  and  I  must,  as  preachers,  he  always  earnest 
in  reference  to  our  pulpit  ivorh.  Here  we  must  labor  to  at- 
tain the  very  highest  degree  of  excellence.  Often  have  I 
said  to  my  brethren  that  the  pulpit  is  the  ThermopyltTe 
of  Christendom:  there  the  fight  will  be  lost  or  won.  To 
us  ministers  the  maintenance  of  our  power  in  the  pulpit 
should  be  our  great  concern,  we  must  occupy  that  spirit- 
ual watch-tower  with  our  hearts  and  minds  awake  and  in 
full  vigor.  It  will  not  avail  us  to  be  laborious  pastors  if 
we  are  not  earnest  preachers.  We  shall  be  forgiven  a 
great  many  sins  in  the  matter  of  pastoral  visitation  if  the 
people's  souls  are  really  fed  on  the  Sabbath-day;  but  fed 
they  must  be,  and  nothing  else  will  make  up  for  it.  The 
failures  of  most  ministers  who  drift  down  the  stream 
may  be  traced  to  inefficiency  in  the  pulpit.  The  chief 
business  of  a  captain  is  to  know  how  to  handle  his  ves- 
sel, nothing  can  compensate  for  deficiency  there,  and  so 
our  pulpits  must  be  our  main  care,  or  all  will  go  awry. 
Dogs  often  fight  because  the  supply  of  bones  is  scanty, 
and  congregations  frequently  quarrel  because  they  do 
not  get  sufficient  spiritual  meat  to  keep  them  haj^jDy  and 


EARNESTNESS.  217 

peaceful.     The  ostensible  ground  of  dissatisfaction   may 
be  something  else,  but  nine  times  out  of  ten  deficiency 
in  their  rations  is  at  the   bottom  of  the  mutinies  which 
occur  in   our    churches.     Men,   like    all   other    animals, 
know  when  they  are  fed,  and  they  usually  feel  good  tem- 
l^ered  after  a  meal;   and  so  when  our  hearers  come  to 
the   house   of    God,    and    obtain    "food    convenient   for 
them,"  they  forget  a  great  many  grievances  in  the  joy  of 
the  festival,  but  if  we  send  them   away  hungry  they  will 
be  in  as  irritable  a  mood  as  a  bear  robbed  of  her  whelps. 
Now,  in  order  that  we  may  be  acceptable,  we  must  be 
earnest  ivJicn  actually  engaged  in  preaching.     Cecil  has  well 
said  that  the  spirit  and  manner  of  a  preacher  often  effect 
more  than  his  matter.     To  go  into  the  pul^jit  with  the 
listless  air  of  those  gentlemen  who  loll  about,  and  lean 
upon  the  cushion  as  if  they  had  at  last  reached  a  quiet 
resting  place,  is,  I  think,  most  censurable.     To  rise  be- 
fore the  people  to   deal  out  commonjolaces  which  have 
cost  you  nothing,  as  if  anything  would  do  for  a  sermon, 
is  not  merely  derogatory  to  the  dignity  of  our  office,  but 
is  offensive  in  the  sight  of  God.     "NVe  must  be  earnest  in 
the  pulpit  for  our  own  sakes,  for  we  shall  not  long  be 
able  to  maintain  our  podition  as  leaders  in  the  Church 
of  God  if  we  are  dull.     Moreover,  for  the  sake  of  our 
church  members,  and  converted  people,  we  must  be  en- 
ergetic, for  if  we  are  not  zealous,  neither  will  they  be. 
It  is  not  in  the  order  of  nature  that  rivers  should  run 
uphill,  and  it  does  not  often  happen  that  zeal  rises  from 
the  ijew  to  the  pulpit.     It  is  natural  that  it  should  flow 
down  from  us  to  our  hearers;  the  pulpit  must  therefore 
stand  at  a  high  level  of  ardor,  if  we  are,  under  God,  to 
make  and  to  keep  our  people  fervent.     Those  who  attend 
our  ministry  have  a  great  deal  to  do  during  the  week. 
Many  of  them   have   family   trials,  and  heavy   personal 


218  LECTURES    TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

burdens  to  carry,  and  they  frequently  come  into  the  as- 
sembly cold  and  listless,  with  thoughts  wandering  hither 
and  thither;  it  is  ours  to  take  those  thoughts  and  thrust 
them  into  the  furnace  of  our  own  earnestness,  melt  them 
by  holy  contemplation  and  by  intense  appeal,  and  pour 
them  out  into  the  mould  of  the  truth.  A  blacksmith  can 
do  nothing  when  his  fire  is  out,  and  in  this  respect  he  is 
the  type  of  a  minister.  If  all  the  lights  in  the  outside 
world  are  quenched,  the  lamp  which  burns  in  the  sanc- 
tuary ought  still  to  remain  undimmed;  for  that  fire  no 
curfew  must  ever  be  rung,  ^^'e  must  regard  the  people 
as  the  wood  and  the  sacrifice,  well  wetted  a  second  and  a 
third  time  by  the  cares  of  the  week,  upon  which,  like  the 
prophet,  we  must  pray  down  the  fire  from  heaven.  A 
dull  minister  creates  a  dull  audience.  You  cannot  ex- 
pect the  office-bearers  and  the  members  of  the  church  to 
travel  by  steam  if  their  own  chosen  pastor  still  drives  the 
old  broad- wheeled  wagon.  We  ought  each  one  to  be  like 
that  reformer  Avho  is  described  as  "  Viridus  rultus,  vividi 
occidi,  vivida;  mamis,  dcniqite  omnia  vivida,'^  which  I  would 
rather  freely  render — "  a  countenance  beaming  with  life, 
eyes  and  hands  full  of  life,  in  fine,  a  vivid  preacher,  al- 
together alive." 

"  Thy  sonl  must  overflow,  if  tliou 
Anotlier's  soul  would  reach, 
It  uecds  the  overflow  of  heart 
To  give  the  lijis  full  speech.'' 

The  world  also  Avill  suffer  as  well  as  the  church  if  we 
are  not  fervent.  "We  cannot  expect  a  gospel  devoid  of 
earnestness  to  have  any  mighty  effect  upon  the  uncon- 
verted around  us.  One  of  the  excuses  most  soj^orific  to 
the  conscience  of  an  ungodly  generation  is  that  of  half- 
heartedness  in  the  preacher.     If  the  sinner   finds   the 


EARNESTNESS.  219 

preacher  nodding  while  he  talks  of  judgment  to  come, 
he  concludes  that  the  judgment  is  a  thing  which  the 
preacher  is  dreaming  about,  and  he  resolves  to  regard  it 
all  as  mere  fiction.  The  whole  outside  world  receives 
serious  danger  from  the  cold-hearted  preacher,  for  it 
draws  the  same  conclusion  as  the  individual  sinner:  it 
perseveres  in  its  own  listlessness,  it  gives  its  strength  to 
its  own  transient  objects,  and  thinks  itself  wise  for  so 
doing.  How  can  it  be  otherwise  ?  If  the  proiDhet  leaves 
his  heart  behind  him  when  he  professes  to  speak  in  the 
name  of  God,  what  can  he  expect  but  that  the  ungodly 
around  him  will  persuade  themselves  that  there  is  noth- 
ing in  his  message,  and  that  his  commission  is  a  farce. 

Hear  how  Whitefield  preached,  and  never  dare  to  be 
lethargic  again.  Winter  says  of  him  that  "  sometimes 
he  exceedingly  wept,  and  -/as  frequently  so  overcome, 
that  for  a  few  seconds  you  would  suspect  he  never  would 
recover;  and  when  he  did,  nature  required  some  little 
time  to  compose  herself.  I  hardly  ever  knew  him  go 
through  a  sermon  without  weeping  more  or  less.  His 
voice  was  often  interrupted  by  his  affections;  and  I  have 
heard  him  say  in  the  pulpit,  '  You  blame  me  for  weep- 
ing; but  how  can  1  help  it,  when  you  AviU  not  weep  for 
yourselves,  although  3'our  own  immortal  souls  are  on  the 
verge  of  destj-uction,  and,  for  aught  I  know,  you  are 
hearing  your  last  sermon,  and  may  never  more  have  an 
opportunity  to  haVe  Christ  offered  to  you  ? '  " 

Earnestness  in  the  pulpit  must  he  real.  It  is  not  to  be 
mimicked.  We  have  seen  it  counterfeited,  but  every 
person  with  a  grain  of  sense  could  detect  the  imposition. 
To  stamp  the  foot,  to  smite  the  desk,  to  perspire,  to 
shout,  to  bawl,  to  quote  the  pathetic  portions  of  other 
people's  sermons,  or  to  pour  out  voluntary  tears  from  a 
watery  eye  will  never  make  up  for  true  agony  of  soul 


220  LECTURES    TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

and  real  tenderness  of  spirit.  The  best  piece  of  acting 
is  but  acting;  those  who  only  look  at  appearances  may 
be  pleased  by  it,  but  lovers  of  reality  will  be  disgusted. 
What  presumption! — what  hypocrisy  it  is  by  skilful 
management  of  the  voice  to  mimic  the  passion  which  is 
the  genuine  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Let  mere  actors 
beware,  lest  they  be  found  sinning  against  the  Holy 
Spirit  by  their  theatrical  performances.  We  must  be 
earnest  in -the  pulpit  because  we  are  earnest  everywhere; 
we  must  blaze  in  our  discourses  because  we  are  contin- 
ually on  lire.  Zeal  which  is  stored  up  to  be  let  oS  only 
on  grand  occasions  is  a  gas  which  will  one  day  destroy 
its  proprietor.  Nothing  but  truth  may  appear  in  the 
house  of  the  Lord;  all  affectation  is  strange  fire,  and  ex- 
cites the  indignation  of  the  God  of  truth.  Be  earnest, 
and  you  will  seem  to  be  earnest.  A  burning  heart  will 
soon  find  for  itself  a  flaming  tongue.  To  sham  earnest- 
ness is  one  of  the  most  contemptible  of  dodges  for  court- 
ing popularity;  let  us  abhor  the  very  thought.  Go  and 
be  listless  m  the  pulpit  if  you  are  so  in  your  heart.  Be 
slow  in  speech,  drawling  in  tone,  and  monotonous  in 
voice,  if  so  you  can  best  express  your  soul;  even  that 
would  be  infinitely  better  than  to  make  your  ministry  a 
masquerade  and  yourself  an  actor. 

But  our  zeal  while  in  the  act  of  preaching  must  he  followed 
up  ly  intense  solicitude  as  to  tJie  after  results;  for  if  it  be 
not  so  we  shall  have  cause  to  (|uesti6n  our  sincerity. 
God  will  not  send  a  harvest  of  souls  to  those  who  never 
.watch  or  water  the  fields  which  they  have  sown.  When 
the  sermon  is  over  we  have  only  to  let  down  the  net  which 
afterwards  we  are  to  draw  to  shore  by  prayer  and  watch- 
fulness. Here,  I  think,  I  cannot  do  better  than  allow  a 
far  abler  advocate  to  plead  with  you,  and  quote  the  words 
of  Dr.    Watts: — "Be   very  sohcitous  about  the  success 


EARNESTNESS.  221 

of  your  labors  in  the  pulpit.  Water  the  seed  sown,  not 
only  with  public,  but  secret  prayer.  Plead  with  God 
importunately  that  he  would  not  suffer  you  to  labor  in 
vain.  But  not  like  that  foolish  bird  the  ostrich,  which 
lays  her  eggs  in  the  dust  and  leaves  them  there,  regard- 
less whether  they  come  to  life  or  not.  (Job  xxxix  14-17). 
God  hath  not  given  her  understanding,  but  let  not  this 
folly  be  your  character  or  practice;  labor,  and  watch  and 
pray,  that  your  sermons  and  the  fruit  of  your  studies 
may  become  words  of  Divine  hfe  to  souls. 

It  is  an  observation  of  pious  Mr.  Baxter  (which  I  have 
read  somewhere  in  his  works),  that  he  has  never  known 
any  considerable  success  from  the  brightest  and  noblest  tal- 
ents, nor  from  the  most  excellent  kind  of  preaching,  nor 
even  when  the  preachers  themselves  have  been  truly  re- 
ligious, if  they  have  had  a  solicitous  concern  for  the  suc- 
cess of  their  ministrations.  Let  the  awful  and  impor- 
tant thought  of  souls  being  saved  by  our  preaching,  or 
left  to  perish  and  to  be  condemned  to  hell  through  our 
negligence, — I  say,  let  this  afwul  and  tremendous 
thought  dwell  ever  upon  our  spirits.  We  are  made 
watchmen  to  the  house  of  Israel,  as  Ezekiel  was;  and,  if 
we  give  no  warnings  of  api)roaching  danger,  the  souls  of 
multitudes  may  perish  through  our  neglect;  but  the 
blood  of  souls  will  be  terribly  required  at  our  hands 
(Ezekiel  iii.  17,  etc.)." 

Such  considerations  should  make  us  instant  in  season 
and  out  of  season,  and  cause  us  at  all  times  to  be  clad 
with  zeal  as  with  a  cloak.  We  ought  to  be  all  alive,  and 
always  alive.  A  pillar  of  light  and  fire  should  be  the 
jDreacher's  fit  emblem.  Our  ministry  must  be  emphatic, 
or  it  will  never  effect  these  thoughtless  times;  and  to  this 
end  our  hearts  must  be  habitually  fervent,  and  our  whole 


222  LECTUIIES    TO    My    STUDENTS. 

nature  must  be  fired  with  an  all-consuining  passion  for 
the  glory  of  (toJ  and  the  good  of  men. 

Now,  my  brethren,  it  is  sadly  true  that  holy  earnest- 
ness, when  we  once  obtain  it,  may  be  easily  damped;  as  a 
matter  of  fact  it  is  more  frequently  chilled  in  the  loneli- 
ness of  a  village  pastorate  than  amid  the  society  of  warm- 
hearted Christian  brethren.  Adam,  the  author  of 
"  Private  Thoughts,"  once  observed  that  "  a  poor  country 
parson,  fighting  against  the  devil  in  his  parish,  has  no- 
bler ideas  than  Alexander  the  Great  ever  had;"  and  I  will 
add,  that  he  needs  more  than  Alexander's  ardor  to  enable 
him  to  continue  victorious  in  his  lioly  warfare.  Sleej^y 
Hollow  and  Dormer's  Land  will  be  too  much  for  us  unless 
we  pray  for  daily  quickening. 

Yet  town  life  has  its  dangers  too,  and  zeal  is  apt  to 
burn  low  through  numerous  engagements,  like  a  fire 
which  is  scattered  abroad  instead  of  being  raked  together 
into  a  heap.  Those  incessant  knocks  at  our  door,  and 
perpetual  visits  from  idle  persons,  are  so  many  buckets 
of  cold  water  thrown  upon  our  devout  zeal.  We  must 
by  some  means  secure  uninterrupted  meditation,  or  we 
shall  lose  power.  London  is  a  peculiarly  trying  sphere 
on  this  account. 

Zeal  also  is  more  quickly  checked  after  long  years  of 
continuance  in  the  same  service  than  when  novelty  gives 
a  charm  to  our  work.  Mr.  Wesley  says,  in  his  fifteenth 
volume  of  "  Journals  and  Letters,"  "  I  know  that,  were 
I  myself  to  preach  one  whole  year  in  one  place,  I  should 
preach  both  myself  and  most  of  my  congregation  asleep." 
What  then  must  it  be  to  abide  in  the  same  pulpit  for 
many  years  !  In  such  a  case  it  is  not  the  pace  that  kills, 
but  the  length  of  the  race.  Our  God  is  evermore  the 
same,  endm-iug  for  ever,  and  he  alone  can  enable  us  to 


EARNESTNESS.  223 

endure  even  to  the  end.  He,  who  at  the  end  of  twenty 
years'  ministry  among  the  same  people  is  more  alive  than 
ever,  is  a  great  debtor  to  the  quickening  Spirit. 

Earnestness  may  he,  and  too  often  is,  diminished  by 
neglect  of  study.  If  we  have  not  exercised  ourselves  in 
the  word  of  God,  we  shall  not  preach  with  the  fervor 
and  grace  of  the  man  who  has  fed  upon  the  truth  he 
delivers,  and  is  therefore  strong  and  ardent.  An 
Eiiglishnan's  earnestness  in  battle  depends,  according  to 
some  authorities,  upon  his  being  well  fed:  he  has  no 
stomach  for  the  fight  if  he  is  starved.  If  we  are  well 
nourished  by  sound  gospel  food  we  shall  be  vigorous  and 
fervent.  An  old  blunt  commander  at  Cadiz  is  described 
by  Selden  as  thus  addressing  his  soldiers: — "What  a 
shame  will  it  be,  you  Englishmen,  who  feed  upon  good 
beef  and  beer,  to  let  these  rascally  Sj^aniards  beat  you 
that  eat  nothing  but  oranges  and  lemons  !  "  His  j)hilos- 
ophy  and  mine  agree:  he  exjjected  courage  and  valor 
from  those  who  were  well  nourished.  Brethren,  never 
neglect  your  spiritual  meals  or  you  will  lack  stamina  and 
your  spirits  will  sink.  Live  on  the  substantial  doctrines 
of  grace,  and  you  will  outlive  and  outwork  those  who 
delight  in  the  jDastry  and  syllabubs  of  "modern  thought." 

Zeal  may,  on  the  other  hand,  be  damj^ed  by  our  stud- 
ies. There  is,  no  doubt,  such  a  thing  as  feeding  the 
brain  at  the  expense  of  the  heart,  and  many  a  man  in 
his  aspirations  to  be  literary  has  rather  qualified  him- 
self to  write  reviews  than  to  preach  sermons.  A  quaint 
evangelist  was  wont  to  say  that  Christ  hung  crucified 
beneath  Greek,  Latin,  and  Hebrew.  It  ought  not 
to  be  so,  but  it  has  often  happened  that  the  student  in 
college  has  gathered  fuel,  but  lost  the  fire  which  is  to 
kindle  it.  It  will  be  to  our  eA'erlasting  disgrace  if  we 
bury  our  flame  beneath  the  fagots  which  are  intended 


224  LECTURES  TO   MY  STUDENTS. 

to  sustain  it.  If  we  degenerate  into  bookworms  it  will 
be  to  the  old  serpent's  delight,  and  to  our  own  misery. 

True  earnestness  may  be  greatly  lessened  by  levity  in 
conversation,  and  especially  by  jesting  with  brother  min- 
isters, in  whose  company  we  often  take  greater  liberties 
than  we  would  like  to  do  in  society  of  other  Ch}istiaus. 
There  are  excellent  reasons  for  our  feeling  at  home  with 
our  brethren,  but  if  this  freedom  be  carried  too  far  we 
shall  soon  feel  that  we  have  suffered  damage  through 
vanity  of  sjjeech.  Cheerfulness  is  one  thing,  and  frivolity 
is  another;  he  is  a  wise  man  who  hj  a  serious  happiness 
of  conversation  steers  between  the  dark  rocks  of  morose- 
ness,  and  the  quicksands  of  levity. 

We  shall  often  find  ourselves  in  danger  of  being  deteri- 
orated in  zeal  by  the  cold  Christian  people  with  whom 
we  come  in  contact.  What  terrible  wet  blankets  some 
professors  are !  Their  remarks  after  a  sermon  are 
enough  to  stagger  you.  You  think  that  surely  you  have 
moved  the  ver}'^  stones  to  feeling,  but  you  painfully  learn 
that  these  people  are  utterly  unaffected.  You  have  been 
burning  and  they  are  freezing:  you  have  been  pleading 
as  for  life  or  death  and  they  have  been  calculating  how 
many  seconds  the  sermon  occupied,  and  grudging  you 
the  odd  five  minutes  beyond  the  usual  hour,  which  your 
earnestness  compelled  you  to  occupy  in  pleading  with 
men's  souls.  If  these  frost-l)itten  men  should  hapj^en  to 
be  the  officers  of  the  church,  from  whom  you  naturally 
expect  the  warmest  symi^athy,  the  result  is  chilling  to 
the  last  degree,  and  all  the  more  so  if  you  are  young 
and  inexperienced:  it  is  as  though  an  angel  were  con- 
fined in  an  iceberg.  "  Thou  slialt  not  yoke  the  ox  and 
the  ass  together"  was  a  merciful  precept:  but  when  a 
laborious,  ox-like  minister  comes  to  be  yoked  to  a  deacon 
who  is  not  another  ox,  it  becomes  hard  work  to  plough. 


EARNESTNESS.  225 

Some  crabbed  professors  have  a  great  deal  to  answer  for 
in  this  matter.  One  of  them  not  so  very  long  ago  went 
up  to  an  earnest  yo+ing  evangelist  who  had  been  doing 
his  best,  and  said,  "  Young  man,  do  you  call  that  preach- 
ing?" He  thought  himself  faithful,  but  he  was  cruel 
and  uncourteous,  and  though  the  good  brother  survived 
the  blow  it  was  none  the  less  brutal.  Such  offences 
against  the  Lord's  little  ones  are,  I  hope,  very  rare,  but 
they  are  very  grievous,  and  tend  to  turn  aside  our  hope- 
ful youth. 

Frequently  the  audience  itself,  as  a  whole,^will  damp 
your  zeal.  You  can  see  by  their  very  look  and  manner 
that  the  people  are  not  appreciating  your  warm-hearted 
endeavors,  and  you  feel  discouraged.  Those  empty 
benches  also  are  a  serious  trial,  and  if  the  place  be  large 
and  the  congregation  small,  the  influence  is  seriously 
depressing;  it  is  not  every  man  who  can  bear  to  be  "  a 
voice  crying  in  the  wilderness."  Disorder  in  the  con- 
gregation also  sadly  afflicts  sensitive  speakers.  The 
walking  up  the  aisle  of  a  woman  with  a  pair  of  pattens, 
the  squeak  of  a  pair  of  new  boots,  the  frequent  fall  of 
umbrellas  and  walking-  sticks,  the  crying  of  infants,  and 
especially  the  consistent  lateness  of  half  the  assembly ; — 
all  these  tend  to  irritate  the  mind,  take  it  off  from  its 
object,  and  dininish  its  ardor.  We  hardly  like  to  confess 
that  our  hearts  are  so  readily  affected  by  such  trifles,  but 
it  is  so,  and  not  at  all  to  be  wondered  at.  As  pots  of  the 
most  precious  ointment  are  more  often  spoilt  by  dead 
flies  than  by  dead  camels,  so  insignificant  matters  will 
destroy  earnestness  more  readily  than  greater  annoy- 
ances. Under  a  great  discouragement  a  man  pulls  him- 
self together,  and  then  throws  himself  upon  his  God,  and 
receives  divine  strength:  but  under  lesser  depressions 


220  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

be  may  possibly  worry,  and  tbe  trilles  will  irritate  and 
fester  till  serious  consequences  follow. 

Pardon  my  saying  tbattbe  condition  of  you"  body  must 
be  attended  to,  especially  in  the  matter  of  eating,  for  any 
measure  of  excess  may  injure  your  digestion  and  make 
you  stupid  when  you  should  be  fervent.  From  the 
memoir  of  Duncan  Matheson  I  cull  an  anecdote  which 
is  much  to  the  point:  ''  In  a  certain  place  where  evangel- 
istic meetings  were  being  held,  the  lay  preachers,  among 
whom  was  Mr.  Matheson,  were  sumj^tuously  entertained 
at  the  house  of  a  Christian  gentleman.  After  dinner 
they  went  to  the  meeting,  not  without  some  difference  of 
oi)inion  as  to  the  best  method  of  conducting  the  services 
of  the  evening.  'The  Spirit  is  grieved;  he  is  not 
here  at  all,  I  feel  it,'  said  one  of  the  younger,  with  a 
whine  which  somewhat  contrasted  with  his  previous 
unl)ounded  enjoyment  of  the  luxuries  of  the  table. 
'Nonsense,'  replied  Matheson,  who  hated  all  whining 
and  morbid  spirituality ;  '  Nothing  of  the  sort.  You  have 
just  eaten  too  much  dinner,  and  you  feel  heavy.' " 
Duncan  Matheson  was  right,  and  a  little  more  of  his 
common  sense  would  be  a  great  gain  to  some  who  are 
ulti-a  spiritual,  and  attribute  all  their  moods  of  feeling  to 
some  supernatural  cause  when  the  real  reason  lies  far 
nearer  to  hand.  Has  it  not  often  happened  that  dys- 
pepsia has  been  mistaken  for  backsliding,  and  a  bad 
digestion  has  been  set  down  as  a  hard  heart?  I  say  no 
more :  a  word  to  the  wise  is  enough. 

Many  physical  and  mental  cauSes  may  operate  to  create 
apparent  lethargy  where  there  is  at  heart  intense  ear- 
nestness. Upon  some  of  us  a  disturbed  night,  a  change  in 
the  weather,  or  an  unkind  remark,  will  produce  the  most 
lamentable  effect.  But  those  who  complain  of  want  of 
zeal  are  often  the  most  zealous  persons  in  the  world,  and 


EARNESTNESS.  227 

a  confession  of  want  of  life  is  itself  an  argument  that  life 
exists,  and  is  not  without  vigor.  Do  not  s^iare  your- 
selves and  become  self-satisfied;  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
do  not  slander  yourselves  and  sink  into  desj^ondency. 
Your  own  opinion  of  your  state  is  not  worth  much  :  ask 
the  Lord  to  searcli  you. 

Long  continued  labor  without  visible  success  is  another 
frequent  damp  upon  zeal,  though  if  rightly  viewed  it 
ought  to  be  an  incentive  to  sevenfold  diligence.  Quaint 
Thomas  FuUer  observes  that  "  herein  God  hath  humbled 
many  painstaking  pastors,  in  making  them  to  be  clouds 
to  rain,  not  over  Ai-abia  the  happy,  but  over  Arabia  the 
desert  and  stony."  If  non  success  humbles  us  it  is  well, 
but  if  it  discourages  us,  and  esj)ecially  if  it  leads  us  to 
think  bitterly  of  more  prosi^erous  brethren,  we  ought  to 
look  about  us  with  grave  concern.  It  is  jiossible  that  we 
have  been  faithful  and  have  adopted  wise  methods,  and 
are  in  our  right  place,  and  yet  we  have  not  struck  the 
mark;  we  shall  probably  be  heavily  bowed  down  and  feel 
scarcely  able  to  continue  the  work;  but  if  we  pluck  up 
courage  and  increase  our  earnestness  we  shall  one  day 
reap  a  rich  harvest,  which  will  more  than  repay  us  for  all 
our  waiting.  "The  husbandman  tvaitefh  for  the  jDrecious 
fruits  of  the  earth";  and  with  a  holy  patience  begotten  of 
zeal  we  must  wait  on,  and  never  doubt  that  the  time  to 
favor  Zion  wiU  yet  come. 

Nor  must  it  ever  be  forgotten  that  the  flesh  is  weak 
and  naturally  inclined  to  slumber.  We  need  a  constant 
renewal  of  the  divine  impulse  which  first  started  us  in 
the  way  of  service.  We  are  not  as  arrows,  which  find 
their  way  to  the  target  by  the  sole  agency  of  the  force 
with  which  they  started  from  the  bow  ;  nor  as  birds, 
which  bear  within  themselves  their  own  -notive  power  : 
we  must  be  borne  onward,  like  ships  at  sea,  by  the  con- 


228  LECTURES   TO   MY  STUDENTS. 

stant  power  of  the  lieavenly  wind,  or  we  shall  make  no 
headway.  Preachers  sent  from  God  are  not  murucal 
boxes  which,  being  once  wound  up,  will  play  through 
their  set  tunes,  but  they  are  trum2:)ets  which  are  utterly 
mute  until  the  living  breath  causes  them  to  give  forth  a 
certain  sound.  We  read  of  some  who  are  dumb  dogs, 
given  to  slumber,  and  such  would  be  the  character  of  us 
all  if  the  grace  of  God  did  not  prevent.  We  have  need 
to  watch  against  a  careless,  indifferent  sjjirit,  and  if  we 
do  not  so  we  shall  soon  be  as  lukewarm  as  Laodicea  it- 
self. 

Remembering  then,  dear  brethren,  that  we  must  be  in 
earnest,  and  that  we  cannot  counterfeit  earnestness,  or 
find  a  substitute  for  it,  and  that  it  is  very  easy  for  us  to 
lose  it,  let  us  consider  for  a  while  the  ways  and  means 
for  retaining  all  our  fervor  and  gaining  more.     If  it  is  to 
continue,  our  edrncstness  must  he  kindled  at  an  immortal 
flame,  and  I  know  of  but  one — the  liame  of  the  love  of 
Christ,  which   many   waters   cannot   quench.     A   spark 
from  that  celestial  sun  will  be  as  undying  as  the  source 
from  whence  it  came.     If  we  can  get  it,  yea,  if  we  have 
it,  we  shall  still  be  full  of  enthusiasm,  however  long  we 
may  live,  however  greatly  we  may  be  tried,  and  however 
mvTch   for  many  reasons  we   may  be   discouraged.     To 
continue  fervent  for  life  we  must  jjossess  the  fervor  of 
heavenly  life  to   begin  wilh.     Have  we   this  fire?     We 
must  have  the  truth  burnt  into  our  souls,  or  it  will  not 
burn  ui^on  our  lips.     Do  we  understand  tliis  ?     The  doc- 
trines of  grace  must   be   jiart  and   jiarcel  of  ourselves, 
interwoven  with  the  warp  and  woof  of  our  being,  and  this 
can  only  be  effected  by  the  same  hand  wliich  originally 
made  the  fabric.     We  shall  never  lose  our  love  to  Christ 
and  our  love  to  souls  if  the  Lord  has  given  them  to  us. 
The  Holy  Si^irit  makes  zeal  for  God  to  be  a  i^ermanent 


EARNESTNESS.  229 

principle  of  life  rather  than  a  passion, — does  the  Holy 
Spirit  rest  upon  us,  or  is  our  present  fervor  a  mere 
human  feeling  ?  We  ought  upon  this  point  to  be  seri- 
ously inquisitorial  with  our  hearts,  pressing  home  the 
question.  Have  we  the  holy  fire  which  springs  from  a 
true  call  to  the  ministry  ?  If  not,  why  are  we  here  ?  If 
a  man  can  live  without  preaching,  let  him  live  without 
preaching.  If  a  man  can  be  content  without  being  a 
soul- winner — I  had  almost  said  he  had  better  not  attempt 
the  work,  but  I  had  rather  say — let  him  seek  to  have  the 
stone  taken  out  of  his  heart,  that  he  may  feel  for  perish- 
ing men.  Till  then,  as  a  minister,  he  may  do  positive 
mischief  by  occupying  the  place  of  one  who  might  have 
succeeded  in  the  blessed  work  in  which  he  must  be  a 
failure. 

The  fire  of  our  earnestness  must  hum  upon  the  hearth  of 
faith  in  the  truths  which  we  preach,  and  faith  in  their 
power  to  bless  mankind  when  the  Spirit  applies  them  to 
the  heart.  He  who  declares  what  may  or  what  may  not 
be  true,  and  what  he  considers  upon  the  whole  to  be  as 
good  as  any  other  form  of  teaching,  wiU  of  necessity 
make  a  very  feeble  preacher.  How  can  he  be  zealous 
about  that  which  he  is  not  sure  of  ?  If  he  knows  noth- 
ing of  the  inward  power  of  the  truth  within  his  own 
heart,  if  he  has  never  tasted  and  handled  the  good 
word  of  life,  how  can  he  be  enthusiastic  ?  But  if  the 
Holy  Ghost  has  taught  us  in  secret  places,  and  made  our 
soul  to  understand  within  itself  the  doctrine  which  we 
are  to  proclaim,  then  shall  we  speak  evermore  with  the 
tongue  of  fire.  Brother,  do  not  begin  to  teach  others 
till  the  Lord  has  taught  you.  It  must  be  dreary  work 
to  parrot  forth  dogmas  which  have  no  interest  for  your 
heart,  and  carry  no  conviction  to  your  understanding, 
I  would  prefer  to  pick  oakum  or  turn  a  crank  for  my 


230  LECTUKES    TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

breakfast,  like  the  paujDers  in  the  casual  ward,  rather 
than  be  the  slave  of  a  congregation  and  bring  them 
spiritual  meat  of  which  I  never  taste  myself.  And  then 
liow  dreadful  the  end  of  such  a  course  must  be  !  How 
fearful  the  account  to  be,  rendered  at  the  last  by  one 
who  publicly  taught  what  he  did  not  heartily  believe, 
and  perpetrated  this  detestable  hypocrisy  in  the  name 
of  God ! 

Brethren,  if  the  fire  is  brought /rom  the  right  place  to 
the  right  place,  we  have  a  good  beginning;  and  the 
main  elements  of  a  glorious  ending.  Kindled  by  a  live 
coal,  borne  to  our  lips  from  off  the  altar  by  the  winged 
cherub,  the  fire  has  begun  to  feed  uj)on  our  inmost 
sjjirit,  and  there  it  will  burn  though  Satan  himself 
should  labor  to  stamp  it  out 

Yet  the  best  flame  in  the  world  needs  renewing.  I 
know  not  whether  immortal  spirits,  like  the  angels, 
drink  on  the  wing,  and  feed  on  some  superior  manna 
prej)ared  in  heaven  for  them;  but  the  probability  is  that 
no  created  being,  though  immortal,  is  quite  free  from 
the  necessity  to  receive  from  without  sustenance  for 
its  strength.  Certainly  the  flame  of  zeal  in  the  renewed 
heart,  however  divine,  must  be  continually  fed  with 
fresh  fuel.  Even  the  lamps  of  the  sanctuai'y  needed  oil. 
Feed  the  flame ,  my  brother,  feed  itfrequentlij; ieeAiiv^iili  holy 
thought  and  contemplation,  esi^ecially  with  thought  about 
your  work,  3'our  motives  in  pursuing  it,  the  design  of  it, 
the  lieljis  that  are  waiting  for  you,  and  the  grand  results  of 
it  if  the  Lord  be  with  you.  Dwell  much  upon  the  love 
of  God  to  sinners,  and  the  death  of  Christ  on  their  be- 
half, and  the  work  of  the  Sjiirit  upon  men's  hearts.  Think 
of  what  must  be  wrought  in  men's  hearts  ere  they  can 
be  saved.  Remember,  you  are  not  sent  to  whiten  tombs, 
but  to  open  them,  and  this  is  a  work  which  no  man  can 


EAENESTNESS.  231 

perform  unless,  like  the  Lord  Jesus  at  tlie  grave  of  Laz- 
arus, he  groans  in  spirit;  and  even  then  he  is  powerless 
apart  from  the  Holy  Ghost.  Meditate  with  deep  solemnity 
upon  the  fate  of  the  lost  sinner,  and,  hke  Abraham,  when 
you  get  up  early  to  go  to  the  place  where  you  commune 
with  God,  cast  an  eye  toward  Sodom  and  see  the  smoke 
thereof  going  up  like  the  smoke  of  a  furnace.  Shun  all 
views  of  future  punishment  which  would  make  it  appear 
less  terrible,  and  so  take  off  the  edge  of  your  anxiety  to  save 
immortals  from  the  quenchless  flame.  If  men  are  indeed 
only  a  nobler  kind  of  ape,  and  expire  as  the  beasts,  you 
may  well  enough  let  them  die  unpitied:  but  if  their 
creation  in  the  image  of  God  involves  immortality,  and 
there  is  any  fear  that  through  their  unbelief  they  will 
bring  upon  themselves  endless  woe,  arouse  yourselves  to 
the  agonies  of  the  occasion,  and  be  ashamed  at  the  bare 
suspicion  of  unconcern.  Think  much  also  of  the  bliss  of 
the  sinner  saved,  and  like  holy  Baxter  derive  rich  argu- 
ments for  earnestness  from  the  "  the  saints'  everlasting 
rest."  Go  to  the  heavenly  hills  and  gather  fuel  tliere ;  pile 
on  the  glorious  logs  of  the  wood  of  Lebanon,  and  the  fire 
will  burn  freely  and  yield  a  sweet  perfume  as  each  piece 
of  choice  cedar  glows  in  the  flame.  There  will  be  no  fear 
of  your  being  lethargic  if  you  are  continually  familiar 
with  eternal  realities. 

Above  all,  feed  the  flame  with  intimate  fellowship  with 
Christ.  No  man  was  ever  cold  in  heart  who  lived  with 
Jesus  on  such  terms  as  John  and  Mary  did  of  old,  for  lie 
makes  men's  hearts  burn  within  them.  I  never  met  with 
a  half-hearted  preacher  who  was  much  in  communion 
with  the  Lord  Jesus.  The  zeal  of  God's  house  ate  up 
our  Lord,  and  when  we  come  into  contact  with  him  it 
begins  to  consume  us  also,  and  we  feol  that  we  cannot 
but  speak  the  things  which  we  have  seen  and  heard  in 


232  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

liis  company,  nor  can  we  help  speaking  of  them  with  the 
fervor  which  comes  out  of  actual  acquaintance  with  them. 
Those  of  us  who  have  been  j)reaching  for  these  five-and- 
twenty  years  sometimes  feel  that  the  same  work,  the  same 
subject,  the  same  people,  and  the  same  pulpit,  are  together 
apt  to  beget  a  feeling  of  monotony,  and  monotony  may  soon 
lead  on  to  weariness.  But  then  we  call  to  mind  another 
sameness,  which  becomes  our  complete  deliverance ;  there 
is  the  same  Saviour,  and  we  may  go  to  him  in  the  same 
way  as  we  did  at  the  first,  since  he  is  "Jesus  Christ  the 
same  yesterday,  and  to-day,  and  for  ever."  In  his  presence 
we  drink  in  the  new  wine  and  renew  our  youth.  He  is  the 
fountain,  for  ever  flowing  with  the  cool  refreshing  water 
of  life,  and  in  fellowship  with  him  we  find  our  souls 
quickened  into  perpetual  energy.  Beneath  his  smile 
our  long  accustomed  work  is  always  delightful,  and 
wears  a  brighter  charm  than  novelty  could  have  con- 
ferred. We  gather  new  manna  for  our  people  every 
morning,  and  as  we  go  to  distribute  it  we  feel  an  anoint- 
ing of  fresh  oil  distilling  upon  us.  "  They  that  wait 
upon  the  Lord  shall  renew  their  strength;  they  shall 
mount  up  with  wings  as  eagles;  they  shall  run  and 
not  be  weary;  and  they  shall  walk  and  not  faint." 
Newly  come  from  the  presence  of  him  that  walketh 
among  the  golden  candlesticks,  we  are  ready  to  write 
or  speak  unto  the  churches  in  the  power  which  he  alone 
can  give.  Soldiers  of  Christ,  you  can  only  be  worthy  of 
your  Captain  by  abiding  in  fellowshij^  with  him,  and 
listening  to  his  voice  as  Joshua  did  when  he  stood  by 
Jordan,  and  inquired — "  What  saith  my  Lord  unto  his 
servant  ?  " 

Fantheflameasirdlasfcedit.  Fan  it  with  much  sup- 
plication. We  cannot  be  too  urgent  with  one  another 
upon  this  point:  no  language  can  be  too  vehement  with 


EARNESTNESS.  233 

which  to  implore  ministers  to  pray.  There  is  for  our 
brethren  and  ourselves  an  absolute  necessity  for  prayer. 
Necessity  ! — I  hardly  like  to  talk  of  that,  let  me  rather 
speak  of  the  deliciousness  of  prayer — the  wondrous 
sweetness  and  divine  felicity  which  come  to  the  soul  that 
lives  in  the  atmosphere  of  prayer.  John  Fox  said, 
"  The  time  we  spend  with  God  in  secret  is  the  sweetest 
time,  and  the  best  improved.  Therefore  if  thou  lovest 
thy  life,  be  in  love  with  prayer."  The  devout  Mr. 
Hervey  resolved  on  the  bed  of  sickness — "  If  God  shall 
spare  my  life,  I  will  read  less  and  pray  more."  John 
Cooke,  of  Maidenhead,  wrote  — "  The  business,  the 
pleasure,  tlie  honor,  and  advantage  of  prayer  press  on 
m}'  spirit  with  increasing  force  every  day."  A  deceased 
pastor  when  drawing  near  his  end,  exclaimed,  "  I  wish  I 
had  prayed  more ; "  that  wish  many  of  us  might  utter. 
There  should  be  special  seasons  for  devotion,  and  it  is 
well  to  maintain  them  with  regularity';  but  the  spirit  of 
prayer  is  even  better  than  the  habit  of  prayer:  to  pray 
without  ceasing  is  better  than  praying  at  intervals.  It 
will  be  a  happy  circumstance  if  we  can  frequently  bow 
the  knee  with  devout  brethren,  and  I  think  it  ought  to  be 
a  rule  with  us  ministers  never  to  separate  without  a  word 
of  prayer.  Much  more  intercession  would  rise  to  heaven 
if  we  made  a  point  of  this,  especially  those  of  us  who 
have  been  fellow-students.  If  it  be  possible,  let  prayer 
and  praise  sanctify  each  meeting  of  friend  with  friend. 
It  is  a  refreshing  practice  to  have  a  minute  or  two  of 
supplication  in  the  vestry  before  preaching  if  you  can 
call  in  three  or  four  warm-hearted  deacons  or  other 
brethren.  It  always  nerves  me  for  the  fight.  But,  for 
all  that,  to  fan  your  earnestness  to  a  vehement  flame 
you  should  seek  the  spirit  of  continual  prayer,  so  as  to 
pray  in  the   Holy   Ghost,    everywhere    and   always;  in 


234  LECTURES   TO   MT   STUDENTS. 

the  study,  in  the  vestiy,  and  in  the  pulpit.  It  is  well 
to  be  pleading  evermore  with  God,  when  sitting  down 
in  the  pulpit,  when  rising  to  give  out  the  hymn, 
when  reading  the  chaj)ter,  and  while  delivering  the 
sermon;  holding  up  one  hand  to  God  empty,  in  order 
to  receive,  and  with  the  other  hand  dispensing  to  the 
people  what  the  Lord  bestows.  Be  in  preashing  like 
a  conduit  pipe  between  the  everlasting  and  infinite  sup- 
plies of  heaven  and  the  all  but  boundless  needs  of  men, 
and  to  do  this  you  must  reach  heaven,  and  keep  up  the 
communication  without  a  break.  Pray /o;'  the  peoj^le  whUe 
you  preach  to  them;  speak  with  God  for  them  while 
you  are  sj)eaking  with  them  for  God.  Only  so  can  you 
expect  to  be  continually  in  earnest.  A  man  does  not 
often  rise  from  his  knees  unearnest;  or,  if  he  does,  he 
had  better  return  to  praj'er  till  the  sacred  flame  de- 
scends upon  his  soul.  Adam  Clarke  once  said,  "  Study 
yourself  to  death,  and  then  pray  yourself  alive  again  " : 
it  was  a  wise  sentence.  Do  not  attempt  the  first  without 
the  second;  neither  dream  that  the  second  can  be 
honestly  accomplished  without  the  first.  Work  and 
pray,  as  well  as  watch  and  pray;  but  pray  always. 

Stir  the  fire  also  by  frequent  attemj)ts  at  fresh  service. 
Shake  yourself  out  of  routine  by  breaking  away  from  the 
familiar  fields  of  service  and  reclaiming  virgin  soil.  I 
suggest  to  you,  as  a  subordinate  but  very  useful  means 
of  keeping  the  heart  fresh,  the  frequent  addition  of  new 
work  to  your  usual  engagements.  I  would  say  to 
brethren  who  are  soon  going  away  from  the  College,  to 
settle  in  spheres  where  they  will  come  into  contact  with 
but  few  superior  minds,  and  perhaps  will  be  almost 
alone  in  the  higher  walks  of  spiritualit}', — look  well  to 
yourselves  that  you  do  not  become  flat,  stale,  and  un- 
profitable, and  keep  yourselves  sweet  by  maintaining  an 


EARNESTNESS.  '235 

enterprising  siDirit.  You  will  have  a  good  share  of  work 
to  do,  and  few  to  help  you  in  it,  and  the  years  will  grind 
along  heavily;  watch  against  this,  and  use  all  means  to 
prevent  your  becoming  dull  and  sleej^y,  and  among 
them  use  that  which  experience  leads  me  to  jDress  upon 
you.  I  find  it  good  for  myself  to  have  some  new  work 
always  on  hand.  The  old  and  usual  enterprises  must  be 
kept  up,  but  somewhat  must  be  added  to  them.  It 
should  be  with  us  as  with  the  squatters  ui)on  our  com- 
mons, the  fence  of  our  garden  must  roll  outward  a  foot 
or  two,  and  enclose  a  little  more  of  the  common  every 
year.  Never  say  "  it  is  enough,"  nor  accept  the  pohcy 
of  "rest  and  be  thankful."  Do  all  you  possibly  can,  and 
then  do  a  little  more.  I  do  not  know  by  what  process 
the  gentleman  who  advertises  that  he  can  make  short 
people  taller  attempts  the  task,  but  I  should  imagine 
that  if  any  result  could  be  produced  in  the  direction 
of  adding  a  cubit  to  one's  stature  it  would  be  by  every 
morning  reaching  up  as  high  as  you  possibly  can  on 
tiptoe,  and,  having  done  that,  trying  day  by  day  to 
reach  a  little  higher.  This  is  certainly  the  way  to  grow 
mentally  and  spiritually,—"  reaching  forth  to  that  which 
is  before."  If  the  old  sliould  become  just  a  little  stale, 
add  fresh  endeavors  to  it,  and  the  whole  mass  will  be 
leavened  anew.  Try  it  and  you  will  soon  discover  the 
virtue  of  breaking  up  fresh  ground,  invading  new 
provinces  of  the  enemy,  and  scaling  fresh  heights  to  sot 
the  banner  of  the  Lord  tliereon.  This  is,  of  course,  a 
secondary  expedient  to  those  of  which  we  have  already 
spoken,  but  still  it  is  a  very  useful  one,  and  may  greatly 
benefit  you.  In  a  country  town,  say  of  two  thousand  in- 
habitants, you  will,  after  a  time,  feel,  "  Well,  now,  I  have 
done  about  all  I  can  in  this  place."  What  tlien  ?  There 
is  a  hamlet  some  four  miles  off,   set  about  opening  a 


^Sfj  LECTURES    TO    MT   STUDENTS. 

room  there.  If  one  liamlet  is  occupied,  make  an  excur- 
sion to  another,  and  spy  out  the  land,  and  set  the  rehef 
of  its  spiritual  destitution  before  you  as  an  ambition. 
When  the  first  place  is  supplied  think  of  a  sneond.  It  is 
your  duty,  it  will  also  be  your  safeguard.  Everybody 
knows  what  interest  there  is  in  fresh  work.  A  gardener 
will  become  weary  of  his  toil  unless  he  is  allowed  to  in- 
troduce new  flowers  into  the  hothouse,  or  to  cut  the 
beds  ujDon  the  lawn  in  a  novel  shape;  all  monotonous 
work  is  unnatural  and  wearying  to  the  mind,  therefore 
it  is  wisdom  to  give  variety  to  your  labor. 

Far  more  weighty  is  the  advice,  keep  close  to  God,  and 
keep  close  to  your  fdlow-mcn  tchom  you  are  seeking  to  bless. 
Abide  under  the  shadow  of  the  Almighty,  dwell  where 
Jesus  manifests  himself,  and  live  in  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  Your  very  life  lies  in  this.  Whitefield 
mentions  a  lad  who  was  so  vividly  conscious  of  the  pres-* 
ence  of  God  that  he  Avould  generall}-  walk  the  roads 
with  his  hat  off.  How  I  wish  we  were  always  in  such 
a  mood.  It  would  be  no  trouble  to  maintain  earnestness 
then. 

Take  care,  also,  to  be  on  most  familiar  terms  with 
those  whose  souls  are  committed  to  your  care.  Stand  in 
the  stream  and.  fish.  Many  preachers  are  utterly  ignor- 
ant as  to  how  the  bulk  of  the  peojDle  are  living  ;  they  are 
at  home  among  books,  but  quite  at  sea  among  men. 
What  would  j  ou  think  of  a  botanist  who  seldom  saw  real 
flowers,  or  an  astronomer  who  never  spent  a  night  with 
the  stars  ?  Would  they  be  worthy  of  the  name  of  men 
of  science  ?  Neither  can  a  minister  of  the  gospel  be  any- 
thing but  a  mere  empiric  unless  he  mingles  with  men, 
and  studies  character  for  himself.  "  Studies  from  the 
life,"  — gentlemen,  we  must  liave  plenty  of  these  if  we 
are  to  paint  to  the  life  in  our  sermons.     Read  men  as 


EARIfESTKESS.  237 

well  as  books,  and  love  men  rather  than  opinions,  or  you 
will  be  inanimate  preachers. 

Get  into  close  quarters  with  those  who  are  in  an  anx- 
ious state.  Watch  their  difficulties,  their  throes  and 
pangs  of  conscience.  It  will  help  to  make  you  earnest 
when  you  see  their  eagerness  to  find  peace.  On  the 
other  hand,  when  you  see  how  little  earnest  the  bulk  of 
men  remain,  it  may  help  to  make  you  more  zealous  for 
theu'  arousing.  Rejoice  with  those  who  a)e  finding  the 
Saviour  :  this  is  a  grand  means  of  revival  for  your  own 
soul.  "When  you  are  enabled  to  bring  a  mourner  to 
Jesus  you  will  feel  quite  young  again.  It  will  be  as  oil 
to  your  bones  to  hear  a  weeping  penitent  exclaim,  "  I  see 
it  all  now !  I  believe,  and  my  burden  is  gone  :  I  am 
saved."  Sometimes  the  rapture  of  newborn  souls  will 
electrify  you  into  apostolic  intensity.  Who  could  not 
preach  after  having  seen  souls  converted?  Be  on  the 
spot  when  grace  at  last  captures  the  lost  sheep,  that  by 
sharing  in  the  Great  Shepherd's  rejoicings  you  may  re- 
new your  youth.  Be  in  at  the  death  with  sinners,  and 
you  will  be  repaid  for  the -weary  chase  after  them  which 
it  may  be  you  have  followed  for  months  and  years. 
Grasp  them  with  firm  hold  of  love,  and  say,  "  Yes,  by  the 
grace  of  God,  I  have  really  won  these  souls;"  and  your 
enthusiasm  will  flame  forth. 

If  you  have  to  labor  in  a  large  town  I  should  recom- 
mend you  to  familiarize  yourself,  wherever  your  place  of 
worship  may  be,  with  the  poverty,  ignorance,  and  drunk- 
enness of  the  place.  Go  if  you  can  with  a  city  mission- 
ary into  the  poorest  quarter,  and  you  will  see  that  which 
will  astonish  you,  and  the  actual  sight  of  the  disease  will 
make  you  eager  to  reveal  the  remedy.  There  is  enough 
of  evil  to  be  seen  even  in  the  best  streets  of  our  great 
cities,  but  there  is  an  unutterable  depth  of  horror  in  the 


238  LECTUKES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

condition  of  the  slums.  As  a  doctor  walks  the  hospitals,  so 
ought  you  to  traverse  the  lanes  and  courts  to  behold  the 
mischief  which  sin  has  wrought.  It  is  enough  to  make  a 
man  weep  tears  of  blood  to  gaze  upon  the  desolation 
which  sin  has  made  in  the  earth.  One  day  with  a  de- 
voted missionary  would  be  a  fine  termination  to  your 
College  course,  and  a  fit  preparation  for  work  in  your 
own  sphere.  See  the  masses  living  in  their  sins,  defiled 
with  drinking  and  Sabbath-breaking,  rioting  and  blas- 
jjlieming;  and  see  them  dying  sodden  and  hardened,  or 
terrified  and  despaiiing:  surely  this  will  rekindle  ex- 
piring zeal  if  anything  can  do  it.  The  world  is  full  of 
grinding  poverty,  and  crushing  sorrow;  shame  and  death 
are  the  portion  of  thousands,  and  it  needs  a  great  gos- 
pel to  meet  the  dire  necessities  of  men's  souls.  Verily  it 
is  so.  Do  you  doubt  it?  Go  and  see  for  j'ourselves. 
Thus  will  you  learn  to  preach  a  great  salvation,  and  mag- 
nify the  great  Saviour,  not  with  your  mouth  only,  but 
with  your  heart;  and  thus  will  you  be  married  to  your 
work  beyond  all  possibility  of  deserting  it. 

Death-beds  are  grand  schools  for  us.  They  are  in- 
tended to  act  as  tonics  to  brace  us  to  our  work.  I  have 
come  down  from  the  bed-chambers  of  the  dying,  and 
thought  that  everybody  was  mad,  and  myself  most  of  all. 
I  have  grudged  the  earnestness  which  men  devoted  to 
earthly  things,  and  half  said  to  myself, — Why  was  that 
man  driving  along  so  hastily  ?  Why  was  that  woman 
walking  out  in  such  finery  ?  Since  they  Avere  all 
to  die  so  soon,  I  thought  nothing  worth  their  doing  bvit 
preparing  to  meet  their  God.  To  be  often  where  men 
die  will  help  us  to  teach  them  both  to  die  and  to  live. 
M'Cheyne  was  wont  to  visit  his  sick  or  dying  hearers  on 
the  Saturday  afternoon,  for,  as  he  told  Dr.  James  Hamil- 
ton, "  Before  preaching  he  liked  to  look  over  the  verge." 


EARNESTNESS.  23!) 

I  pray  you,  moreover,  measure  your  work  iu  the  light 
of  God.  Are  you  God's  servant  or  not?  If  you  are, 
how  can  your  heart  be  cold  ?  Are  you  sent  by  a  dying 
Saviour  to  proclaim  his  love  and  win  the  reward  of  his 
wounds,  or  are  you  not  ?  If  you  are,  how  can  you  flag  ? 
Is  the  Spirit  of  God  upon  you  ?  Has  the  Lord  anointed 
you  to  preach  glad  tidings  to  the  poor  ?  If  he  has  not, 
do  not  pretend  it.  If  he  has;  go  in  this  thy  might,  and 
the  Lord  shall  be  thy  strength.  Yours  is  not  a  trade,  or 
a  profession.  Assuredly  if  you  measure  it  by  the  trades- 
man's measure  it  is  the  jDoorest  business  on  the  face  of 
the  earth.  Consider  it  as  a  profession:  who  would  not 
prefer  any  other,  so  far  as  golden  gains  or  wordly 
honors  are  concerned  ?  But  if  it  be  a  divine  calling,  and 
you  a  miracle-worker,  dwelling  in  the  sui^ernatural,  and 
working  not  for  time  but  for  eternity,  then  you  belong 
to  a  nobler  guild,  and  to  a  higher  fraternity  than  any 
that  spring  of  earth  and  deal  with  time.  Look  at  it 
aright,  and  you  will  own  that  it  is  a  grand  thing  to  be  as 
poor  as  [your  Lord,  if,  like  him,  you  may  make  many 
rich;  you  will  feel  that  it  is  a  glorious  thing  to  be  as  un- 
known and  depised  as  were  your  Lord's  first  followers, 
because  you  are  making  him  known,  whom  to  know  is 
life  eternal.  You  will  be  satisfied  to  be  anything  or  to 
be  nothing,  and  the  thought  of  self  will  not  enter  your 
mind,  or  only  cross  it  to  be  scouted  as  a  meanness  not  to 
be  tolerated  by  a  consecrated  man.  There  is  the  jaoint. 
Measure  your  work  as  it  should  be  measured,  and  I  am 
not  afraid  that  your  earnestness  will  be  diminished. 
Gaze  upon  it  by  the  light  of  the  judgment  day,  and  in 
view  of  the  eternal  rewards  of  faithfulness.  Oh,  breth- 
ren, the  present  joy  of  hfiving  saved  a  soul  is  overwhelm- 
ingly delightful;  you  have  felt  it,  I  trust,  and  know  it 
now.     To   save  a  soul   from   going   down   to   perdition 


240  LECTURES    TO    MY    STUDENTS. 

brings  to  us  a  little  heaven  below,  but  what  must  it  be 
at  the  clay  of  judgment  to  meet  spirits  redeemed  by 
Christ,  who  learned  the  news  of  their  redemption  from 
our  lips !  AVe  look  forward  to  a  blissful  heaven  in  com- 
munion with  our  Master,  but  we  shall  also  know  the 
added  joy  of  meeting  those  loved  ones  whom  we  led  to 
Jesus  by  our  ministry.  Let  us  endure  every  cross,  and 
despise  all  shame,  for  the  joy  which  Jesus  sets  before  us 
of  winning  men  for  him. 

One  more  thought  may  help  to  keep  up  our  earnest- 
ness. Consider  the  great  evil  which  will  certainly  come 
upon  us  and  upon  our  hearers  if  we  be  negligent  in  our 
work.  "  They  shall  perish  " — is  not  that  a  di-eadful  sen- 
tence ?  It  is  to  me  quite  as  awful  as  that  which  follows 
it, — "  but  their  blood  will  I  require  at  the  watchman's 
hand."  How  shall  we  describe  the  doom  of  an  unfaith- 
ful minister  ?  And  every  unearnest  minister  is  unfaith- 
ful. I  would  infinitely  prefer  to  be  consigned  to  Tophet 
as  a  murderer  of  men's  bodies  than  as  a  destroyer  of 
men's  souls;  neither  do  I  know  of  any  condition  in 
which  a  man  can  perish  so  fatally,  so  infinitely,  as  in  that 
of  the  man  who  preaches  a  gospel  which  he  does  not  be- 
lieve, and  assumes  the  office  of  pastor  over  a  people 
whose  good  he  does  not  intensely  desire.  Let  us  pray  to 
be  found  faithful  always,  and  ever.  God  grant  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  may  make  and  keep  us  so. 


LECTURE  IX. 

THE  BLIND  EYE  AND  THE  DEAF  EAR. 

Having  often  said  iu  this  room  that  a  mijiister  ought 
to  have  one  bUnd  eye  and  one  deaf  ear,  I  have  excited 
the  curiosity  of  several  brethren,  who  have  requested  an 
explanation;  for  it  appears  to  them,  as  it  does  also  to 
me,  that  the  keener  eyes  and  ears  we  have  the  better. 
"SVell,  gentlemen,  since  the  text  is  somewhat  mysterious, 
you  shall  have  the  exegesis  of  it. 

A  part  of  my  meaning  is  expressed  in  plain  language 
by  Solomon,  in  the  book  of  Ecclesiastes  (vii.  21):  "Also 
take  no  heed  unto  all  words  that  are  spoken;  lest  thou 
hear  thy  servant  cui'se  thee."  The  margin  says,  "  Give 
not  thy  heart  to  all  Vv'ords  that  are  si:)oken; " — do  not 
take  them  to  heart  or  let  them  weigh  with  you,  do  not 
notice  them,  or  act  as  if  you  heard  them.  You  cannot 
stop  people's  tongues,  and  therefore  the  best  thing  is  to 
stop  your  own  ears  and  never  mind  what  is  spoken. 
There  is  a  world  of  idle  chit-chat  abroad,  and  he  who 
takes  note  of  it  will  have  enough  to  do.  He  will  find 
that  even  those  who  live  with  him  are  not  always  singing 
his  praises,  and  that  when  he  has  displeased  his  most 
faithful  servants  they  have,  in  the  heat  of  the  moment, 
spoken  fierce  words  which  it  would  be  better  for  him  not 
to  have  heard.  "Who  has  not,  under  temporary  irrita- 
tion, said  that  of  another   which  he  has  afterwards  re- 

2ii 


242  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

gretted  ?  It  is  the  part  of  the  generous  to  treat  pas- 
sionate words  as  if  they  had  never  been  uttered.  AVhen 
a  man  is  in  an  angry  mood  it  is  wise  to  walk  away  from 
him,  and  leave  off  strife  before  it  be  meddled  with;  and 
if  we  are  compelled  to  hear  hasty  language,  we  must  en- 
deavor to  obliterate  it  from  the  memory,  and  say  with 
David,  "  But  I,  as  a  deaf  man,  heard  not.  I  Avas  as  a 
man  that  heareth  not,  and  in  whose  mouth  are  no  re- 
proofs." Tacitus  describes  a  wise  man  as  saying  to  one 
that  railed  at  him,  "  You  are  lord  of  your  tongue,  but  I 
c;m  also  master  of  my  ears  "—you  may  say  what  you  please, 
but  I  will  hear  what  I  choose.  We  cannot  shut  our  ears 
as  we  do  oar  eyes,  for  we  have  no  ear  lids,  and  yet,  as 
we  read  of  him  that  "  stoppeth  his  ears  from  hearing  of 
blood,"  it  is,  no  doubt,  possible  to  seal  the  portal  of  the 
ear  so  that  nothing  contraband  shall  enter.  We  would 
say  of  the  general  gossip  of  the  village,  and  of  the  unad- 
vised words  of  angry  friends — do  not  hear  them,  or  if 
you  must  hear  them,  do  not  lay  them  to  heart,  for  you 
also  have  talked  idly  and  angrily  in  your  day,  and  would 
even  now  be  in  an  awkward  position  if  you  were  called 
to  account  for  every  word  that  you  have  sjDoken,  even 
about  your  dearest  friend.  Thus  Solomon  argued  as  he 
closed  the  passage  which  Ave  have  quoted, — "  For  often- 
times also  thine  own  heart  knoAveth  that  thou  thyself 
likewise  hast  cursed  others." 

In  enlarging  upon  my  text,  let  me  say  first, — Avhen 
you  commence  your  ministry  make  up  your  mind  to  be- 
gin with  a  clean  sheet;  l)e  deaf  and  blind  to  the  long  staiul'uKj 
differences  ivMcJi  may  survive  in  the  church.  As  soon  as 
you  enter  upon  your  pastorate  you  may  be  Avaited  upon 
by  persons  who  are  anxious  to  secure  your  adhesion  to 
their  side  in  a  family  quarrel  or  church  dispute;  be  deaf 
and  blind  to  these  people,  and  assure  them  that  bygones 


THE    BLIND    EYE    AND    THE   DEAF   EAR.  243 

must  be  bygones  with  you,  aud  that  as  you  have  not  in- 
herited your  predecessor's  cupboard  you  do  rot  mean  to 
eat  his  cokl  meat.  If  any  flagrant  injustice  has  been 
done,  be  dihgent  to  set  it  right,  but  if  it  be  a  mere  feud, 
bid  the  quarrelsome  party  cease  from  it,  and  tell  him 
once  for  all  that  you  will  have  nothing  to  do  with  it. 
The  answer  of  Gallio  will  almost  suit  you:  "  If  it  were  a 
matter  of  wrong  or  wicked  lewdness,  O  ye  Jews,  reason 
would  that  I  should  bear  with  you:  but  if  it  be  a  ques- 
tion of  words  and  names,  and  vain  j anglings,  look  ye  to 
it;  for  I  will  be  no  judge  of  such  matters."  When  I 
came  to  New  Park-street  Chapel  as  a  young  man  from 
the  country,  and  was  chosen  pastor,  I  was  speedily  inter- 
viewed by  a  good  man  who  had  left  the  church,  having, 
as  he  said,  been  "treated  shamefully."  He  mentioned 
the  names  of  half-a-dozen  persons,  all  prominent  mem- 
bers of  the  church,  who  had  behaved  in  a  very  unchris- 
tian manner  to  him,  he,  poor  innocent  suficrer,  having 
been  a  model  of  patience  and  holiness.  I  learned  his 
character  at  once  from  what  he  said  about  others 
(a  mode  of  judging  which  has  never  misled  me),  and  I 
made  up  ni}'  mind  how  to  act.  I  told  him  that  the 
church  had  been  in  a  sadly  unsettled  state,  and  that  the 
only  way  out  of  the  snarl  was  for  every  one  to  forget  the 
past  and  begin  again.  He  said  that  the  lapse  of  years 
did  not  alter  facts,  and  I  replied  that  it  would  alter  a 
man's  view  of  them  if  in  that  time  he  had  become  a  wiser 
and  better  man.  However,  I  added,  that  all  the  i^ast 
had  gone  away  with  my  predecessors,  that  he  must  fol- 
low them  to  their  new  spheres,  and  settle  matters  w-ith 
tlicm,  for  I  would  not  touch  the  affair  with  a  pair  of 
tongs.  He  waxed  somewhat  warm,  but  I  allowed  him  to 
radiate  until  he  was  cool  again,  and  we  shook  hands  and 
parted.     He  was  a  good  man,  but  constructed  upon  an 


244  LECTURES    TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

uncon.fortable  principle,  so  that  lie  came  across  the  path 
of  others  in  a  very  awkward  manner  at  times,  and  if  I 
had  gone  into  his  narrative  and  examined  his  case,  there 
would  have  been  no  end  to  the  strife.  I  am  quite  cer- 
tain that,  for  my  own  success,  and  for  the  prosperity  of 
the  church,  I  took  the  wisest  course  by  api^lying  my 
blind  eye  to  all  disputes  which  dated  previously  to  my 
advent.  It  is  the  extreme  of  unwisdom  for  a  young  man 
fresh  from  college,  or  from  another  charge,  to  suffer 
himself  to  be  earwigged  by  a  clique,  and  to  be  bribed  by 
kindness  and  flattery  to  become  a  partisan,  and  so  to 
ruin  himself  with  one-half  of  his  people.  Know  nothing 
of  parties  and  cliques,  but  be  the  pastor  of  all  the  flock, 
and  care  for  all  alike.  Blessed  are  the  peacemakers,  and 
one  sure  way  of  peacemaking  is  to  let  the  fire  of  conten- 
tion alone.  Neither  fan  it,  nor  stir  it,  nor  add  fuel  to  it, 
but  let  it  go  out  of  itself.  Begin  your  ministry  with  one 
blind  eye  and  one  deaf  ear. 

I  should  rcconuncnd  the  nse  of  the  scone  facuJfi/,  or  want  of 
facult//,  with  regard  tu  finance  in  the  matter  of  your  ou-n  scdar/j. 
There  are  some  occasions,  especially  in  raising  a  new 
church,  when  you  may  have  no  deacon  who  is  qualified 
to  manage  that  department,  and,  therefore,  you  may 
feel  called  u2:)on  to  undertake  it  yourselves.  In  such  a 
case  you  are  not  to  be  censured,  you  ought  even  to  be 
commended.  Many  a  time  also  the  work  would  come  to 
an  end  altogether  if  the  preacher  did  not  act  as  his  own 
deacon,  and  find  supplies  both  temporal  and  spiritual  by 
his  own  exertions.  To  these  exceptional  cases  I  have 
nothing-  to  sa}'  but  that  I  admire  the  struggling  worker 
and  deeply  sympathize  with  him,  for  he  is  overweighled, 
and  is  apt  to  he  a  less  successful  soldier  for  his  Lord  be- 
cause he  is  entangled  with  the  affairs  of  this  life.  In 
churches  which  are  well  established,  and  afford  a  decent 


THE  BLIXD  EYE  AND  THE  DEAE  EAR.      245 

maintenance,  the  minister  will  do  well  to  supervise  all 
things,  but  interfere  with  nothing.  If  deacons  cannot 
be  trusted  they  ought  not  to  be  deacons  at  all,  but  if 
they  are  worthy  of  their  office  they  are  worthy  of  our 
confidence.  I  know  that  instances  occur  in  which  they 
are  sadly  incompetent  and  yet  they  must  be  borne  with, 
and  in  such  a  state  of  things  the  pastor  must  open  the 
eye  which  otherwise  would  have  remained  blind.  Eather 
than  the  management  of  church  funds  should  become  a 
scandal  we  must  resolutely  interfere,  but  if  there  is  no 
urgent  call  for  us  to  do  so  Ave  had  better  believe  in  the 
division  of  labor,  and  let  deacons  do  their  own  work. 
We  have  the  same  right  as  other  officers  to  deal  with 
financial  matters  if  we  please,  but  it  will  be  our  wisdom 
as  much  as  possible  to  let  them  alone,  if  others  will  man- 
age them  for  us.  When  the  purse  is  bare,  the  wife 
sickly,  and  the  children  numerous,  the  preacher  must 
speak  if  the  church  does  not  proj^erly  jirovide  for  him; 
but  to  be  constantly  bringing  before  the  peoi:)le  requests 
for  an  increase  of  income  is  not  wise.  When  a  minister 
is  poorly  remunerated  and  he  feels  that  he  is  worth 
more,  and  that  the  church  could  give  him  more,  he  ought 
kindly,  boldly  and  firmly  to  communicate  with  the  dea- 
cons first,  and  if  they  do  not  take  it  up  he  should  then 
mention  it  to  the  brethren  in  a  sensible,  business-like 
way,  not  as  craving  a  charity,  but  as  putting  it  to  their 
sense  of  honor,  that  the  "laborer  is  worthy  of  his  hire." 
Let  him  say  outright  what  he  tliinks,  for  there  is  nothing  to 
be  ashamed  of,  but  there  would  be  much  more  cause  for 
shame  if  he  dishonored  himself  and  the  cuase  of  God  by 
plunging  into  debt:  let  him  therefore  speak  to  the  point 
in  a  proper  spirit  to  the  proper  persons,  and  there  end 
the  matter,  and  not  resort  to  secret  complaining.  Failli 
in  God  should  tone  down  our  concern  about  temporali- 


246  LECTURES    TO    MY    STUDENTS. 

ties,  and  enable  us  to  practice  what  we  preach,  namely — 
"Take  no  thought,  saying-,  What  shall  we  eat?  or,  What 
shall  we  drink;  or,  Wherewithal  shall  we  be  clothed?  for 
your  heavenly  Father  knoweth  that  ye  nave  need  of  all 
these  things."  Some  who  have  jDretended  to  live  by  faith 
have  had  a  very  shrewd  way  of  drawing  out  donations  by 
turns  of  the  indirect  corkscrew,  but  you  will  either  ask 
plainly,  like  men,  or  you  will  leave  it  to  the  Christian  feel- 
ing of  your  people,  and  turn  to  the  items  and  modes  of 
church  finance  a  blind  eye  and  a  deaf  ear. 

The  blind  eye  and  the  deaf  ear  will  come  in  exceedingly  well 
in  connection  tvith  the  gossips  of  tJie  place.  Every  church,  and, 
for  the  matter  of  that,  every  village  and  family,  is  j^lagued 
with  certain  Mrs.  Grundys,  who  drink  tea  and  talk  vitriol. 
They  are  never  quiet,  but  buzz  around  to  the  great  an- 
noyance of  those  who  are  devout  and  practical.  No  one 
needs  to  look  far  for  perpetual  motion,  he  has  only  to 
watch  their  tongues.  At  tea-meetings,  Dorcas  meetings 
and  other  gatherings,  they  practise  vivisection  upon  the 
characters  of  their  neighbors,  and  of  course  they  are 
eager  to  try  their  knives  upon  the  minister,  the  minister's 
wife,  the  minister's  children,  the  minister's  wife's  bonnet, 
the  dress  of  the  minister's  daughter,  and  how  many  new 
ribbons  she  has  worn  for  the  last  six  months,  and  so  on 
ad  infinitum.  There  are  also  certain  persons  who  are 
iiever  so  happy  as  when  they  are  "grieved  to  the  heart" 
to  have  to  tell  the  minister  that  Mr.  A.  is  a  snake  in  the 
f>rass,  that  he  is  quite  mistaken  in  thinking  so  well  of 
Messrs.  B.  and  C,  and  that  they  have  heard  quite 
"  promiscously"  that  Mr.  D.  and  his  wife  are  badly 
matched.  Then  follows  a  long  string  about  Mrs.  E,  who 
says  that  she  and  Mrs.  F.  overheard  Mrs.  Gr.  say  to  Mrs. 
H.  that  Mrs.  J.  should  say  that  Mr.  K.  and  Miss  L.  were 
going  to  move  from  the  chapel  and  hear  Mr.  M.,  and  all 


THE   BLIND    ETS    AND    THE    DEAF    EAR.  247 

because  of  what  old  N.  said  to  young  O.  about  that  ]Miss 
P.  Never  listen  to  such  people.  Do  as  Nelson  did  when 
he  put  his  blind  eye  to  the  telescope  and  declared  that 
he  did  not  see  the  signal,  and  therefore  would  go  on  with 
the  battle.  Let  the  creatures  buzz,  and  do  not  even  hear 
them,  unless  indeed  they  buzz  so  much  concerning  one 
person  that  the  matter  threatens  to  be  serious;  then  it 
will  be  well  to  bring  them  to  book  and  talk  in  sober  ear- 
nestness to  them.  Assure  them  that  you  are  obliged  to 
have  facts  definitely  before  you,  that  your  memory  is  not 
very  tenacious,  that  you  have  many  things  to  think  of, 
that  you  are  always  afraid  of  making  any  mistake  in  such 
matters,  and  that  if  they  would  be  good  enough  to  write 
down  what  they  have  to  say  the  case  would  be  more  fully 
before  you,  and  you  could  give  more  time  to  its  consider- 
ation. Mrs.  Gruudj'  will  not  do  that;  she  has  a  great  ob- 
jection to  making  clear  and  definite  statements;  she  per- 
fers  talking  at  random. 

I  heartily  wish  that  by  any  process  we  could  jDut  down 
gossip,  but  I  svippose  that  it  will  never  be  done  so  long 
as  the  human  race  continues  what  it  is,  for  James  tells  us 
that  "every  kind  of  beasts,  and  of  birds,  and  of  ser- 
pents, and  of  things  in  the  sea,  is  tamed,  and  hath  been 
tamed  of  mankind:  but  the  tongue  can  no  man  tame; 
it  is  an  unrul}'  evil,  full  of  deadly  poison."  What  can't 
be  cured  must  be  endured,  and  the  best  way  of  endur- 
ing it  is  not  to  listen  to  it.  Over  one  of  our  old  castles  a 
former  owner  has  inscribed  these  lines — 

They  say. 

What  do  they  say? 

Let  theji  say. 

Thin-skinned  persons  should  learn  this  motto  by  heart. 


248  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

The  talk  of  the  village  is  never  worthy  of  notice,  and  you 
should  never  take  any  interest  in  it  except  to  mourn  over 
the  malice  and  heartlessness  of  which  it  is  too  often  the 
indicator. 

Mayow  in  his  "Plain  Preaching"  very  forcibly  says, 
"If  you  were  to  see  a  woman  killing  a  farmer's  ducks  and 
geese,  for  the  sake  of  having  one  of  the  feathers,  you 
would  see  a  person  acting  as  we  do  when  we  speak  evil 
of  any  one,  for  the  sake  of  the  pleasiire  we  feel  in  evil 
speaking.  For  the  pleasure  we  feel  is  not  worth  a  sin- 
gle feather,  and  the  pain  we  give  is  often  greater  than  a 
man  feels  at  the  loss  of  his  i^roperty."  Insert  a  remark 
of  this  kind  now  and  then  in  a  sermon,  when  there  is  no 
special  gossip  abroad,  and  it  may  be  of  some  benefit  to 
the  more  sensible:  I  quite  despair  of  the  rest. 

Above  all,  never  join  in  tale-bearing  yourself,  and  beg 
your  wife  to  abstain  from  it  also.  Some  men  are  too 
talkative  by  half,  and  remind  me  of  the  young  man  who 
was  sent  to  Socrates  to  learn  oratoiy.  On  being  in- 
troduced to  the  philosopher  he  talked  so  incessantly 
that  Socrates  asked  for  double  fees.  "Why  charge  me 
double?"  said  the  young  fellow.  "Because,"  said  the 
orator,  "I  must  teach  you  two  sciences:  the  one  how  to 
hold  your  tongue  and  the  other  how  to  speak."  The  first 
science  is  the  more  difficult,  but  aim  at  proficiency  in  it, 
or  you  will  suffer  greatly',  and  create  trouble  without  end. 

Avoid  with  your  whole  soul  tliat  spirit  of  suspicion 
which  sours  some  men's  lives,  and  to  all  things  from  wJiich 
you  might  hnrslihj  dratc  an  nnlcind  inference  turn  a  blind  ei/c 
and  a  deaf  ear.  S.ispiciou  makes  a  man  a  torment  to  liiin- 
self  and  a  spy  towards  others.  Once  begins  to  suspect, 
and  causes  for  distrust  will  multiply  around  you,  and 
your  very  suspiciousness  will  create  the  major  part  of 
them.     Many  a  friend  has  been   transformed   into   an 


tHE    BLIND    EYE    AND    THE   DEAF    EAR.  249 

enemy  by  being  suspected.  Do  not,  therefore,  look 
al)oiit  you  with  the  e^'es  of  mistrust,  nor  listen  as  an 
eaves-dropper  with  the  quick  ear  of  fear.  To  go  about 
the  congregation  ferreting  out  disaflection,  like  a  game- 
keeper after  rabbits,  is  a  mean  emplo3'ment  and  is  gener- 
ally rewarded  most  sorrowfully.  Lord  Bacon  wisely 
advises  "  the  provident  stay  of  inquiry  of  that  which  we 
would  be  loath  to  find."  "When  nothing  is  to  be  discov- 
ered which  will  help  us  to  love  others  we  had  better  cease 
from  the  inquiry,  for  we  may  drag  to  light  that  which  may 
be  the  commencement  of  3'ears  of  contention.  I  am  not, 
of  course,  referring  to  cases  requiring  disci2:)line,  which 
must  be  thoroughly  investigated  and  boldly  dealt  with, 
but  I  have  uj^ou  my  mind  mere  i^ersonal  matters  where 
the  main  sufferer  is  yourself;  here  it  is  always  best  not  to 
know,  nor  to  wish  to  know,  what  is  being  said  about  jou, 
either  by  friends  or  foes.  Those  who  praise  us  aro 
probably  as  much  mistaken  as  those  who  abuse  us,  an-l 
the  one  may  be  regarded  as  a  set  off  to  the  other,  if  in- 
deed it  be  worth  while  taking  any  account  at  all  of  man's 
judgment.  If  we  have  the  approbation  of  our  God,  certi- 
fied by  a  placid  conscience,  we  can  afford  to  be  indifferent 
to  the  opinions  of  our  fellow-men,  whether  they  com- 
mend or  condemn.  If  we  cannot  reach  this  point  we  are 
babes  and  not  men. 

Some  are  childishly  anxious  to  know  their  friend's 
opinion  of  them,  and  if  it  contain  the  smallest  element 
of  dissent  or  censure,  they  regard  him  as  an  enemy 
forthwith.  Surely  we  are  not  popes,  and  do  not  wish 
our  hearers  to  regard  us  as  infallible  !  "We  have  known 
men  become  quite  enraged  at  a  perfectly  fair  and  reas- 
onable remark,  and  regard  an  honest  friend  as  an  op- 
ponent who  delighted  to  find  fault;  this  misrepresenta- 
tion  on   the   one   side  has  soon  produced  heat  on  the 


250  LECTUllES   TO   MT   STUDENTS. 

other,  and  strife  Las  ensued.  How  niucli  better  is 
gentle  forbearance!  You  must  be  able  to  bear  criti- 
cism, or  you  are  not  tit  to  be  at  the  bead  of  a  congrega- 
tion; and  you  must  let  the  critic  go  without  reckoning 
him  among  your  deadly  foes,  or  you  will  prove  yourself 
a  mere  weakling.  It  is  wisest  always  to  show  double 
kindness  where  you  have  been  severely  handled  by  one 
who  thought  it  his  duty  to  do  so,  for  he  is  probably  an 
honest  man  and  worth  winning.  He  who  in  your  early 
days  hardly  thinks  you  fit  for  the  pastorate  may  yet  be- 
come your  firmest  defender  if  he  sees  that  you  grow  in 
grace,  advance  in  qualification  for  the  work;  do  not, 
therefore,  regard  him  as  a  foe  for  truthfully  expressing 
his  doubts;  does  not  your  own  heart  confess  that  his 
fears  were  not  altogether  groundless  ?  Turn  your  deaf 
ear  to  what  you  judge  to  be  his  harsh  criticism,  and 
endeavor  to  preach  better. 

Persons  from  love  of  change,  from  pique,  from  ad- 
vance in  their  tastes,  and  other  causes,  may  become  un- 
easy under  our  ministry,  and  it  is  well  for  us  to  know 
nothing  about  it.  Perceiving  the  danger,  we  must  not 
betray  our  discovery,  but  bestir  ourselves  to  improve 
our  sermons,  hoping  that  the  good  peoi^le  will  be  better 
fed  and  forget  their  dissatisfaction.  If  they  are  truly 
gracious  persons,  the  incii^ient  evil  will  pass  away,  and 
no  real  discontent  will  arise,  or  if  it  does  you  must  not 
provoke  it  by  susi^ecting  it. 

Where  I  have  known  that  there  existed  a  measure  of 
disaffection  to  myself,  I  have  not  recognized  it,  unless  it 
has  been  forced  ui:)on  me,  but  have,  on  the  contrary, 
acted  towards  the  opposing  person  with  aU  the  more 
courtesy  and  friendliness,  and  I  have  never  heard  any 
more  of  the  matter.  If  I  had  treated  the  good  man 
as  an  opponent,  he  would  have  done  his  best  to  take  the 


THE    BLIND    EYE   AND    THE   DEAF    EAR.  251 

part  assigned  him,  and  carry  it  out  to  his  own  credit: 
but  I  I'eit  that  he  was  a  Christian  man,  and  had  a 
right  to  dislike  me  if  he  thought  fit,  and  that  if  he  did 
so  I  ought  not  to  think  unkindly  of  him;  and  therefore  I 
treated  him  as  one  who  was  a  friend  to  my  Lord,  if  not 
to  me,  gave  him  some  work  to  do  which  implied  confi- 
dence in  him,  made  him  feel  at  home,  and  b}-  degrees  won 
him  to  be  an  attached  friend  as  well  as  a  fellow-worker. 
The  best  of  people  are  sometimes  out  at  elbowa  and  say 
unkind  things;  ive  should  be  glad  if  our  friends  could 
quite  forget  what  we  said  when  we  were  peevish  and  irri- 
table, and  it  will  be  Christlike  to  act  towards  others  in 
this  matter  as  we  would  wish  them  to  do  towards  us. 
Never  make  a  brother  remember  that  he  once  uttered  a 
hard  speech  in  reference  to  yourself.  If  you  see  him  in 
a  happier  mood,  do  not  mention  the  former  painful 
occasion:  if  he  be  a  man  of  right  spirit  he  will  in  future 
be  unwilling  to  vex  a  pastor  who  has  treated  him  so 
generously,  and  if  he  be  a  mere  boor  it  is  a  pity  to  hold 
any  argument  with  him,  and  therefore  the  past  had 
better  go  by  default. 

It  would  be  better  to  be  deceived  a  hundred  times 
than  to  live  a  life  of  suspicion.  It  is  intolerable. 
The  miser  who  traverses  his  chamber  at  midnight  and 
hears  a  burglar  in  every  falling  leaf  is  not  more  wretched 
than  the  minister  who  believes  that  plots  are  hatching 
against  him,  and  that  reports  to  his  disadvantage  are 
being  spread.  I  remember  a  brother  who  beheved  that 
he  was  being  poisoned,  and  was  persuaded  that  even  the 
seat  he  sat  upon  and  the  clothes  he  wore  had  by  some 
subtle  chemistry  become  saturated  with  death;  his  hfe 
was  one  perj^etual  scare,  and  such  is  the  existence  of  a 
minister  when  he  mistrusts  all  around  him.  Nor  is  sus- 
picion merely  a  source  of  disquietude,  it  is  a  moral  evil. 


252  LECTURES  TO  Mr  STUDENTS. 

and  injures  the  character  of  the  man  who  harbors  it. 
Suspicion  in  kings  creates  tyranny,  in  husbands  jealousy, 
and  in  ministers  bitterness;  such  bitterness  as  in  spirit 
dissolves  all  the  ties  of  the  pastoral  relation,  eating  like 
a  corrosive  acid  into  the  very  soul  of  the  office  and 
making  it  a  curse  rather  than  a  blessing.  When  once 
this  terrible  evU  has  curdled  all  the  milk  of  human  kind- 
ness in  a  man's  bosom,  he  becomes  more  fit  for  the  de- 
tective force  than  for  the  ministry;  like  a  spider,  he  begins 
to  cast  out  his  lines,  and  fashions  a  web  of  trenuilous 
threads,  all  of  which  lead  up  to  liimself  and  warn  him  of 
the  least  touch  of  even  the  tiniest  midge.  There  he  sits  in 
the  centre,  a  mass  of  sensation,  all  nerves  and  raw  wounds, 
excitable  and  excited,  a  self-immolated  martyr  drawing 
the  blazing  fagots  about  him,  and  apparently  anxious 
to  be  burned.  The  most  faithful  friend  is  unsafe  under 
such  conditions.  The  most  careful  avoidance  of  offence 
will  not  secure  immunity  from  mistrust,  but  wiU  pro- 
bably be  construed  into  cunning  and  cowardice.  So- 
ciety is  almost  as  much  in  danger  from  a  suspecting 
man  as  from  a  mad  dog,  for  he  snaps  on  all  sides  with- 
out reason,  and  scatters  riglit  and  left  the  foam  of  his 
madness.  It  is  vain  to  reason  with  the  victim  of  this 
folly,  for  with  i:)erverse  ingenuit}'  he  turns  every  argu- 
ment the  wrong  way,  and  makes  your  plea  for  confi- 
dence another  reason  for  mistrust.  It  is  sad  that  he 
cannot  see  the  iniquity  of  his  groundless  censure  of 
others,  especially  of  tliose  who  have  been  his  best  friends 
and  the  firmest  upholders  of  the  cause  of  Christ. 

"I  Avonld  not  wroBGj 
Virtue  so  tried  hy  the,  lenst  slinde  of  doubt: 
Undue  suspicion  is  more  iiltject  baseness 
Even  than  tlie  guilt  suspected.'' 


THE   BLIND   EYE   AND   THE   DEAF   EAE.  ^53 

No  one  ought  to  be  ma Je  an  offender  for  a  word ;  but, 
when  suspicion  rules,  even  silence  becomes  a  crime- 
Brethren,  shun  this  vice  by  renouncing  the  love  of  self. 
Judge  it  to  be  a  small  matter  what  men  think  or  say  of 
you,  and  care  only  for  their  treatment  of  your  Lord.  If 
you  are  naturally  sensitive  do  not  indulge  the  weakness, 
nor  allow  others  to  play  upon  it.  Would  it  not  be  a 
great  degradation  of  your  office  if  you  were  to  keep  an 
army  of  spies  in  your  pay  to  collect  information  as  to  all 
that  your  people  said  of  you  ?  And  yet  it  amounts  to 
this  if  you  allow  certain  busybodies  to  bring  jon  all  the 
gossip  of  the  place.  Drive  the  creatures  away.  Abhor 
those  mischief-making,  tattling  hand-maidens  of  strife. 
Those  who  will  fetch  will  carry,  and  no  doubt  the  goseii^s 
go  from  your  house  and  report  ever}^  observation  which 
falls  from  your  lips,  with  plenty  of  garnishing  of  their  own. 
Remember  that,  as  the  receiver  is  as  bad  as  the  thief,  so 
the  hearer  of  scandal  is  a  sharer  in  the  guilt  of  it.  If 
there  were  no  listening  ears,  there  would  be  no  tale- 
bearing tongues.  While  you  are  a  buyer  of  ill  wares  the 
demand  will  create  the  supply,  and  the  factories  of 
falsehood  will  be  working  full  time.  No  orue  wishes  to 
become  a  creator  of  lies,  and  yet  he  who  hears  slanders 
with  pleasure  and  believes  them  with  readiness  will 
hatch  many  a  brood  into  active  life. 

Solomon  says  "  a  whisperer  separateth  chief  friends." 
(Prov.  xvi.  28.)  Insinuations  are  thrown  out,  and  jeal- 
ousies aroused,  till  "  mutual  coolness  ensues,  and.  neither 
can  understand  why;  each  wonders  what  can  possibly 
be  the  cause.  Thus  the  firmest,  the  longest,  the  warmest, 
and  most  confiding  attachments,  the  sources  of  life's 
sweetest    joys,    are    broken    up    perhaps    for    ever."  * 

*  Dr.  Wardlaw  on  Proverbs. 


254  LECTURES    TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

This  is  work  worthy  of  the  arch-fiend  himself,  but  it 
could  never  be  done  if  men  lived  out  of  the  atmosphere 
of  siisjoicion.  As  it  is  the  world  is  full  of.  sorrow  through 
this  cause,  a  sorrow  as  sharp  as  it  is  superfluous.  This 
is  grievous  indeed!  Campbell  eloquently  remarks, 
' '  The  ruins  of  old  friendships  are  a  more  melancholy 
spectacle  to  me  than  those  of  desolated  palaces.  They 
exhibit  the  lieart  which  was  once  lighted  up  with  joy  all 
damp  and  deseiied,  and  haunted  by  those  birds  of  ill 
omen  that  nestle  in  ruins."  O  susj^icion,  what  des- 
olations thou  hast  made  in  the  earth ! 

Learn  to  disbelieve  those  who  have  no  faith  in  their 
brethren.  Suspect  those  who  would  lead  3'ou  to  suspect 
others.  A  resolute  unbelief  in  all  the  scandalmongers 
will  do  much  to  repress  their  mischievous  energies. 
Matthew  Pool  in  his  Cripplegate  Lecture  says,  "  Com- 
mon fame  hath  lost  itsreputa'.ion  long  since,  and  I  do  not 
know  anything  which  it  hath  done  in  our  day  to  regain 
it;  therefore  it  ought  not  to  be  credited.  How  few  re- 
ports there  are  of  any  kind  which,  when  they  come  to  be 
examined,  we  do  not  find  to  be  false  !  For  my  part,  I 
reckon,  if  I  believe  one  report  in  twenty,  I  make  a  very 
liberal  allowance.  Especially  distrust  reproaches  and 
evil  reports,  because  these  sj^read  fastest,  as  being 
grateful  to  most  persons,  who  supj^ose  their  own  reputa- 
tion to  be  never  so  well  grounded  as  when  it  is  built 
upon  the  ruins  of  other  men's."  Because  the  persons 
who  would  render  you  mistrustful  of  your  friends  are  a 
sorry  set,  and  because  suspicion  is  in  itself  a  wretched 
and  tormenting  vice,  resolve  to  turn  towards  the  whole 
business  your  blind  eye  and  your  deaf  ear. 

Need  I  say  a  word  or  two  about  the  wisdom  of  never 
hearing  what  ivas  not  meant  for  you.  The  eaves-drojiper  is 
a  mean  person,  very  little  if  any  thing  better  than  the 


THE    BLIXD    EYE   AXD    THE    DEAF    EAR.  255 

common  informer;  and  lie  who  says  lie  overheard vaaj  he 
considered  to  have  heard  over  and  above  what  he  should 
have  done. 

Jeremy  Ta^'lor  wisely  and  justly  observes,  "  Never 
listen  at  the  door  or  window,  for  besides  that  it  contains 
in  it  a  danger  and  a  snare,  it  is  also  invading  ni}'  neigh- 
bor's privacy,  and  a  laying  that  oj)en,  which  he  therefore 
encloses  that  it  might  not  be  open."  It  is  a  well  worn 
proverb  that  listeners  seldom  hear  any  good  of  them- 
selves. Listening  is  a  sort  of  larceny,  but  the  goods 
stolen  are  never  a  pleasure  to  the  thief.  Information  ob- 
tained by  clandestine  means  must,  in  all  but  extreme 
cases,  be  more  injury  than  benefit  to  a  cause.  The  mag- 
istrate may  judge  it  exjoedient  to  obtain  evidence  by  such 
means,  but  I  cannot  imagine  a  case  in  which  a  minister 
should  do  so.  Ours  is  a  mission  of  grace  and  peace;  we 
are  not  prosecutors  wdio  search  out  condemnatory  evi- 
dence, but  friends  whose  love  would  cover  a  multitude 
of  offences.  The  jDeepiiig  eyec  of  Canaan,  the  son  of 
Ham,  shall  never  be  in  our  employ;  we  prefer  the  pious 
delicacy  of  Shem  and  Japliet,  who  went  backward  and 
covered  the  shame  which  the  child  of  evil  had  published 
with  glee. 

To  opinions  and  remarhs  about  yourself  turn  also  as  a  gen- 
eral rule  the  Hind  eye  and  the  deaf  ear.  Public  men  must 
exj^ect  public  criticism,  and  as  the  public  cannot  be  re- 
garded as  infallible,  j^ublic  men  may  expect  to  be  criti- 
cised in  a  way  which  is  neither  fair  nor  pleasant.  To  all 
honest  and  just  remarks  w^e  are  bound  to  give  due  meas- 
ure of  heed,  but  to  the  bitter  verdict  of  jn-ejudice,  the 
frivolous  faultfinding  of  men  of  fashion,  the  stupid  utter- 
ances of  the  ignorant,  and  the  fierce  denunciations  of 
opponents,  we  may  very  safely  turn  a  deaf  ear.  We 
cannot  expect  those  to  approve  of  us  whom  we  condemn 


256  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

l)y  our  testimony  against  their  favorite  sins;  tlieir  com- 
lueudation  would  show  that  we  had  missed  our  mark. 
"We  naturally  look  to  be  aj^proved  by  our  own  people,  the 
members  of  our  churches,  and  the  adherents  of  our 
congregations,  and  when  they  make  observations  which 
show  that  they  are  not  very  great  admirers,  we  may  be 
tempted  to  discouragement  if  not  to  anger:  herein  lies  a 
snare.  When  I  was  about  to  leave  my  village  charge  for 
London,  one  of  the  old  men  prayed  that  I  might  be 
"delivered  from  the  bleating  of  the  sheeiD."  For  the  life 
of  me  I  could  not  imagine  what  he  meant,  but  the  riddle 
is  plain  now,  and  I  have  learned  to  offer  the  prayer  my- 
self. Too  much  consideration  of  what  is  said  by  our 
people,  whether  it  be  in  praise  or  in  depreciation,  is  not 
good  for  us.  If  we  dwell  on  high  with  "that  great  Shep- 
herd of  the  sheep,"  we  shall  care  little  for  all  the  confused 
bleatings  around  us,  but  if  we  become  "  carnal,  and  walk 
as  men,"  we  shall  have  little  rest  if  we  listen  to  this,  that, 
and  the  other  which  ever}'  poor  sheep  may  bleat  about 
us.  Perhaps  it  is  quite  true  that  you  were  uncommonly 
dull  last  Sabbath  morning,  but  there  was  no  need  that 
Mrs.  Clack  should  come  and  tell  you  that  Deacon  Jones 
thought  so.  It  is  more  than  probable  that  having  been 
out  in  the  country  all  the  jDrevious  week,  your  preaching 
was  very  like  milk  and  water,  but  there  can  be  no  neces- 
sity for  5'our  going  round  among  the  peoi:)le  to  discover 
whether  they  noticed  it  or  not.  Is  it  not  enough  that 
your  conscience  is  uneasy  upon  the  point  ?  Endeavor  to 
improve  for  the  future,  but  do  not  want  to  hear  all  tliat 
every  Jack,  Tom,  and  ]\Iary  may  have  to  say  about  it. 
On  the  other  hand,  you  were  on  the  hi!;h  horse  in  your 
last  sermon,  and  finished  with  quite  a  flourish  of  trum- 
pets, and  you  feel  consideral)le  anxiety  to  know  what 
impression  you  produced.     RejDress  your  curiosity:   it 


THE  BLT^^D  EYE  AND  THE  DEAF  EAE.      257 

will  do  you  no  good  to  inquire.  If  the  people  should 
lia]ipen  to  agree  with  your  verdict,  it  will  only  feed  your 
pitiful  vanity,  and  if  they  think  otherwise  your  tishing  for 
their  praise  will  injure  you  in  their  esteem.  In  any  case 
it  is  all  about  yourself,  and  this  is  a  poor  theme  to  be 
anxious  about;  play  the  man,  and  do  not  demean  your- 
self by  seeking  comj)liments  like  little  children  when 
dressed  in  new  clothes,  who  say,  "  See  my  pretty  frock." 
Have  you  not  by  this  time  discovered  that  flattery  is  as 
injurious  as  it  is  pleasant?  It  softens  the  mind  and 
makes  you  more  sensitive  to  slander.  In  jDroportion  as 
praise  pleases  you  censure  will  pain  you.  Besides,  it  is 
a  crime  to  be  taken  off  from  your  great  object  of  glorify- 
ing the  Lord  Jesus  by  petty  considerations  as  to  your 
little  self,  and,  if  there  were  no  other  reason,  this  ought 
to  weigh  much  with  you.  Pride  is  a  deadly  sin,  and  will 
grow  without  your  borrowing  the  jDarish  v,'ater-cart  to 
quicken  it.  Forget  expressions  which  feed  your  vanity, 
and  if  you  find  yourself  relishing  the  unwholesome  mor- 
sels confess  the  sin  with  deep  humiliation.  Payson 
showed  that  he  was  strong  in  the  Lord  when  he  wrote  to 
his  mother,  "  You  must  not,  certainh*,  my  dear  mother, 
say  one  word  which  even  looks  like  an  intimation  that 
you  think  me  advancing  in  grace.  I  cannot  bear  it.  All 
the  i^eojDle  here,  whether  friends  or  enemies,  consjDire  to 
ruin  me.  Satan  and  my  own  heart,  of  course,  will  lend 
a  hand;  and  if  you  join  too,  I  fear  all  the  cold  water 
which  Christ  can  throw  upon  my  pride  will  not  prevent 
its  In-eaking  out  into  a  destructive  flame.  As  certainly  as 
anybody  flatters  and  caresses  me  my  heavenly  Father  has 
to  whip  me:  and  an  unspeakable  mercy  it  is  that  he  con- 
descends to  do  it.  I  can,  it  is  true,  easily  muster  a 
hundred  reasons  why  I  should  not  be  proud,  but  pride 
will   not   mind   reason,  nor  anything   else   but   a   oood 


258  LECTUEES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

drubbing.  Even  at  this  moment  I  feel  it  tingling  in  my 
fingers'  ends,  and  seeking  to  guide  my  pen."  Knowing 
something  myself  of  those  secret  whippings  which  our 
good  Father  administers  to  his  servants  when  he  sees 
them  unduly  exalted,  I  heartily  add  my  own  solemn 
warnings  against  your  pampering  the  flesh  by  listening 
to  the  praises  of  the  kindest  friends  you  have.  They  are 
injudicious,  and  you  must  beware  of  them. 

A  sensible  friend  who  wiU  unsparingly  criticise  you 
from  week  to  week  will  be  a  far  greater  blessing  to  you 
than  a  thousand  undiscriminating  admirers  if  you  have 
sense  enough  to  bear  his  treatment,  and  grace  enough  to 
be  thankful  for  it.  When  I  was  preaching  at  the  Surrey 
Gardens,  an  unknown  censor  of  great  ability  used  to  send 
me  a  weekly  list  of  my  mispronunciations  and  other  slips 
of  speech.  He  never  signed  his  name,  and  that  was  my 
only  cause  of  complant  against  him,  for  he  left  me  in  a 
debt  which  I  could  not  acknowledge.  I  take  this  oppor- 
tunity of  confessing  my  obligations  to  him,  for  with  genial 
temper,  and  an  evident  desire  to  benefit  me,  he  marked 
down  most  relentlessly  everything  which  he  supposed  me 
to  have  said  incorrectly.  Concerning  some  of  these  cor- 
rections Jie  was  in  error  himself,  but  for  the  most  part  he 
was  right,  and  his  remarks  enabled  me  to  perceive  and 
avoid  many  mistakes.  I  looked  for  his  weekly  memor- 
anda with  much  interest,  and  I  trust  I  am  all  the  better 
for  them.  If  I  had  repeated  a  sentence  two  or  three 
Sundays  before,  he  would  say,  "  See  same  expression  in 
such  a  sermon,"  mentioning  number  and  page.  He 
remarked  on  one  occasion  that  1  too  often  quoted  the 
line 

"Nothing  in  my  hands  I  bring," 

and,  he  added,  "  we  are  sufficiently  informed  of  the  vac- 


THE  BLIND    EYE    AND    THE    DEAF    EAR.  259 

nity  of  your  Uauds."  He  deniauded  my  auLliority  for 
calling  a  man  covechus;  and  so  on.  Possibly  some  young 
men  might  have  been  discouraged,  if  not  irritated,  by 
such  severe  criticisms,  but  they  would  have  been  ver\' 
foolish,  for  in  resenting  such  correction  they  would  have 
been  throwing  away  a  valuable  aid  to  progress.  No 
money  can  j)urchase  outspoken  honest  judgment,  and 
when  we  can  get  it  for  nothing  let  us  utilize  it  to  the 
fullest  extent.  The  worst  of  it  is  that  of  those  who  offer 
their  judgments  few  are  qualified  to  form  them,  and  we 
shall  be  pestered  with  foolish,  impertinent  remarks,  un- 
less we  turn  to  them  all  the  blind  eye  and  the  deaf  ear. 

In  the  case  of  false  reports  against  yourself,  for  the  most 
part  use  tJie  deaf  ear.  Unfortunately  liars  are  not  yet 
extinct,  and,  like  Kichard  Baxter  and  John  Buuyan,  you 
may  be  accused  of  crimes  which  your  soul  abhors.  Be 
not  staggered  thereby,  for  this  trial  has  befallen  the  veiy 
best  of  men,  and  even  your  Lord  did  not  escape  the  en- 
venomed tongue  of  falsehood.  In  almost  all  cases  it  is 
the  wisest  course  to  let  such  things  die  a  natural  death. 
A  great  lie,  if  unnoticed,  is  like  a  big  fish  out  of  water, 
it  dashes  and  plunges  and  beats  itself  to  death  in  a  short 
time.  To  answer  it  is  to  supply  it  with  its  element,  and 
help  it  to  a  longer  hfe.  Falsehoods  usually  carry  their 
own  refutation  somewhere  about  them,  and  sting  them- 
selves to  death.  Some  lies  especially  have  a  f>eculiar 
smell,  which  betrays  their  rottenness  to  every  honest  nose. 
If  you  are  disturbed  by  them  the  object  of  their  invention 
is  partly  answered,  but  your  silent  endurance  disappoints 
malice  and  gives  you  a  partial  victory,  which  God  in  his 
care  of  you  will  soon  turn  into  a  complete  deliverance. 
Your  blameless  life  will  be  your  best  defence,  and  those 
who  have  seen  it  will  not  allow  you  to  be  condemned  so 
readily  as  your  slanderers  expect.     Only  abstain   from 


200  LECTURES   TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

lighting  your  own  battles,  and  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten 
your  accusers  will  gain  nothing  by  their  malevolence  but 
chagrin  for  themselves  and  contempt  from  others.  To 
prosecute  the  slanderer  is  very  seldom  wise.  I  remember 
a  beloved  servant  of  Christ  who  in  his  youth  was  very 
sensitive,  and,  being  falsely  accused,  proceeded  against 
the  person  at  law.  An  apology  was  offered,  it  withdrew 
every  iota  of  the  charge,  and  was  most  ample,  but  the 
good  man  insisted  uj^on  its  being  printed  in  the  news- 
papers, and  the  result  convinced  him  of  his  own  unwis- 
dom. Multitudes,  who  would  otherwise  have  never 
heard  of  the  libel,  asked  what  it  meant,  and  made  com- 
ments thereon,  generally  concluding  with  the  sage  remark 
that  he  must  have  done  something  imprudent  to  provoke 
such  an  accusation.  He  was  heard  to  say  that  so  long  as 
he  lived  he  would  never  resort  to  such  a  method  again, 
for  he  felt  that  the  public  apology  had  done  him  more 
harm  that  the  slander  itself.  Standing  as  we  do  in  a 
l^osition  which  makes  us  choice  targets  for  the  devil  and 
his  allies,  our  best  course  is  to  defend  our  innocence  by 
our  silence  and  leave  our  reputation  with  God.  Yet 
there  are  exceptions  to  this  general  rule.  When  distinct, 
definite,  public  charges  are  made  against  a  man  he  is 
bound  to  answer  them,  and  answer  them  in  the  clearest 
and  most  open  manner.  To  decline  all  investigation  is 
in  such  a  case  practically  to  plead  guilty,  and  whatever 
may  be  the  mode  of  putting  it,  the  general  public  ordin- 
arily regard  a  refusal  to  reply  as  a  proof  of  guilt.  Under 
mere  worry  and  annoyance  it  is  by  far  the  best  to  be 
altogether  passive,  but  when  the  matter  assumes  more 
serious  proportions,  raid  our  accuser  defies  us  to  a 
defence,  we  are  bound  to  meet  his  charges  with  honest 
statements  of  fact.  In  every  instance  counsel  should  be 
sought  of  the  Lord  as  to  how  to  deal  with  slanderous 


THE   BLIND    EYE    AND    THE   DEAF   EAK.  261 

tongues,  and  in  the  issue  innocence  will  be  vindicated 
and  falsehood  convicted. 

Some  ministers  have  been  broken  in  spirit,  driven  from 
their  position,  and  even  injured  in  character  by  taking 
notice  of  village  scandal.  I  know  a  fine  young  man,  for 
whom  I  predicted  a  career  of  usefulness,  who  fell  into 
great  trouble  because  he  at  first  allowed  it  to  be  a  trouble 
and  then  worked  hard  to  make  it  so.  He  came  to  me 
and  comi^lained  that  he  had  a  great  grievance;  and  so  it 
was  a  grievance,  but  from  beginning  to  end  it  was  all 
about  what  some  half-dozen  women  had  said  about  his 
procedure  after  the  death  of  his  wife.  It  was  originally 
too  small  a  thing  to  deal  with, — a  Mrs.  Q.  had  said  that 
she  should  not  wonder  if  the  minister  married  the  ser- 
vant then  living  in  his  house;  another  represented  her  as 
saying  that  he  ought  to  marry  her,  and  then  a  third,  with 
a  malicious  ingenuity,  found  a  deejaer  meaning  in  the 
words,  and  construed  them  into  a  charge.  Worst  of  all, 
the  dear  sensitive  preacher  must  needs  trace  the  matter 
out  and  accuse  a  score  or  two  of  people  of  spreading 
libels  against  him,  and  even  threaten  some  of  them  with 
legal  proceedings.  If  he  could  have  prayed  over  it  in 
secret,  or  even  have  whistled  over  it,  no  harm  would  have 
come  of  the  tittle-tattle;  but  this  dear  brother  could  not 
treat  the  slander  wisely,  for  he  had  not  what  I  earnestly 
recommend  to  you,  namely,  a  blind  eye  and  a  deaf  ear. 

Once  more,  my  brethren,  the  blind  eye  and  the  deaf 
ear  will  be  useful  to  you  in  relation  to  »t1ier  churches  and 
their  pastors.  I  am  always  delighted  when  a  brothei-  in 
meddling  with  other  people's  business  burns  his  fingers. 
Why  did  he  not  attend  to  his  own  concerns  and  not  epis- 
copize  in  another's  diocese  V  I  am  frequently  requested 
by  members  of  churches  to  meddle  in  their  home  disjDutes; 
but  unless  they  come  to  me  with  authority,  officially  ajj- 


262  LECTUKES  TO  MY  STUDENTS. 

pointing  me  to  be  umpire,  I  decline.     Alexander  Cruden 
gave  himself  the  name  of  "  the  Corrector,"  and  I  have 
never  envied  him  the  title.     It  would  need  a  peculiar 
inspiration  to  enable  a  man  to  settle  all  the  controversies 
of  our  churches,  and  as  a  rule  those  who  are  least  quali- 
fied are  the  most   eager  to   attempt  it.     For  the  most 
part  interference,  however  well  intentioned,  is  a  failure. 
Internal  dissensions  in  our  churches  are  very  like  quar- 
rels between  man  and  wife:  when   the  case    comes   to 
such  a  pass  that  they  must  fight  it  out,  the  interposing 
party  will  be  the  victim  of  their  common  fury.     No  one 
but  Mr.  Verdant  Green  will  interfere  in  a  domestic  battle, 
for  tlie  man  of  course  resents  it,  and  the  lady,  though  suffer- 
mg  from  many  a  blow,  will  say,  "  You  leave  my  husband 
alone;  he  has  a  right  to  beat  me  if  he  likes."     However 
great  the  mutual  animosity  of  conjugal  combatants,  it 
seems  to  be  forgotten  in  resentment  against   intruders; 
and  so,  amongst  the  very  independent  denomination  of 
Baptists,   the  person  outside  the  church  who  interferes 
in  an}'  manner  is  sure  to  get  the  worst  of  it.     Do  not 
consider  yourself  to  be  the  bishop  of  all  the  neighboring 
churches,  but  be  satisfied  with  looking  after  Lystra,  or 
Derbe,  or  Tliessalonica,  or  whichever  church  may  have 
been   allotted   to   your    care,    and    leave    Philippi    and 
Ephesus  in  the  hands  of  their  own  jjastors.     Do  not  en- 
courage disaffected  persons  in  finding  fault  with  their 
minister,  or  in  bringing  you  news  of  evils  in  other  con- 
gregations.    When  you  meet  your  brother  ministers  do 
not  be  in  a  hurry  to  advise  them;  they  know  their  duty 
quite  as  well  as  you  know  yours,   and  yovir  judgment 
upon  their  course  of  action  is  probably  founded  upon 
partial  information  supplied  from   prejudiced   sources. 
Do  not  grieve  your  neighbors  by  your  meddlesomeness. 
We  have  all  enough  to  do  at  home,  and  it  is  pi'udent  to 


THE   BLIND    EYE    AND    THE   DEAF   EAR.  2G3 

keep  out  of  all  disputes  whicli  do  not  belong  to  us.  We 
are  recommended  by  one  of  the  world's  proverbs  to  wash 
our  dirty  linen  at  home,  and  I  will  add  another  line  to 
it,  and  advise  that  we  do  not  call  on  our  neighbors 
while  their  linen  is  in  the  suds.  This  is  due  to  our 
friends,  and  will  best  promote  peace.  "  He  that  passeth 
by  and  nieddleth  with  strife  belonging  not  to  him,  is  like 
one  that  taketh  a  dog  by  the  ears  '; — he  is  very  apt  to 
be  bitten,  and  few  will  pity  him.  Bridges  wisely  ob- 
serves that  "  Oar  blessed  Master  has  read  us  a  lesson  of 
godly  wisdom.  He  healed  the  contentious  in  his  own 
family,  but  when  called  to  meddle  with  strife  belonging 
not  to  him,  he  gave  answer — '  Who  made  me  a  judge  or 
a  divider  over  you  ?  '  "  Self-constituted  judges  win  but 
little  respect;  if  they  were  more  fit  to  censure  they 
would  be  less  inclined  to  do  so.  Many  a  trilling  differ- 
ence within  a  church  has  been  fanned  into  a  great  liame 
by  ministers  outside  who  had  no  idea  of  the  mischief 
they  were  causing:  they  gave  verdicts  upon  ex  parte 
statements,  and  so  egged  on  opposing  persons  who  felt 
safe  when  they  could  say  that  the  neighboring  ministers 
quite  agreed  with  them.  My  counsel  is  that  we  join  the 
"  Knownothings,"  and  never  say  a  word  upon  a  mat- 
ter till  we  have  heard  both  sides;  and,  moreover,  that 
we  do  our  best  to  avoid  hearing  either  one  side  or  the 
other  if  the  matter  does  not  concern  us. 

Is  not  this  a  sufficient  explanation  of  my  declaration 
that  I  have  one  blind  eye  and  one  deaf  ear,  and  that  they 
are  the  best  eye  and  ear  I  have  ? 


LECTURE   X. 

ON  CONVERSION  AS  OUR  AIM. 

The  grand  object  of  the  Christian  ministry  is  the  glory 
of  God.  Whether  souls  are  converted  or  not,  if  Jesus 
Christ  be  faithfully  preached,  the  minister  has  not  labored 
in  vain,  for  he  is  a  sweet  savour  unto  God  as  weh  in 
them  that  perish  as  in  them  that  are  saved.  Yet  as  a 
rule,  God  has  sent  us  to  preach  in  order  that  through  the 
gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  the  sons  of  men  may  be  reconciled 
to  him.  Here  and  there  a  preacher  of  righteousness,  like 
Noah,  may  labor  on  and  bring  none  beyond  his  own  fami- 
ly circle  into  the  ark  of  salvation;  and  another,  like  Jere- 
miah, may  weep  in  vain  over  an  impenitent  nation:  but, 
for  the  most  part,  the  work  of  preaching  is  intended  to 
save  the  hearers.  It  is  ours  to  sow  even  in  the  stony 
places,  where  no  fruit  rewards  our  toil;  but  still  we  are 
bound  to  look  for  a  harvest,  and  mourn,  if  it  does  not 
appear  in  due  time. 

The  glory  of  God  being  our  chief  object  we  aim  at  it 
by  seeking  the  edification  of  saints  and  the  salvation  of 
sinners.  It  is  a  noble  work  to  instruct  the  people  of 
God,  and  to  build  them  up  in  their  most  holy  faith:  we 
may  by  no  means  neglect  this  duty.  To  this  end  we 
must  give  clear  statements  of  gospel  doctrine,  of  vital 
experience,  and  of  Christain  duty,  and  never  shrink  from 
declaring  the  whole  counsel  of  God.     lu  too  many   cases 

264 


ON   CONVEKSION   AS   OUR   AIM,  265 

sublime  truths  are  lield  in  abej-ance  under  the  pretence 
that  they  are  not  practical;  whereas  the  very  fact  that 
they  are  revealed  proves  that  the  Lord  thinks  them  to  be 
of  value,  and  woe  unto  us  if  we  pretend  to  be  wiser  than 
he.  We  may  say  of  any  and  every  doctrine  of  Scrip- 
tm*e — 

"To  give  it  then  a  tongue  is  wise  in  man." 

If  any  one  note  is  dropped  from  the  divine  harmony  of 
truth  the  music  may  be  sadly  marred.  Your  people  may 
fall  into  grave  spiritual  diseases  through  the  lack  of  a 
certain  form  of  spiritual  nutriment,  which  can  only  be 
supplied  by  the  doctrines  which  you  withhold.  In  the 
food  which  we  eat  there  are  ingredients  which  do  not  at 
first  appear  to  be  necessary  to  life;  but  experience  shows 
that  they  are  requisite  to  health  and  strength.  Phos- 
phorus will  not  make  flesh,  but  it  is  wanted  for  bone ; 
many  earths  and  salts  come  under  the  same  description 
— they  are  necessary  in  due  proportion  to  the  human 
economy.  Even  thus  certain  truths  which  appear  to  be 
little  adapted  for  spiritual  nutriment  are,  nevertheless, 
very  beneficial  in  furnishing  believers  with  backbone  and 
muscle,  and  in  repairing  the  varied  organs  of  Christian 
manhood.  We  must  preach  "  the  whole  truth,"  that  the 
man  of  God  may  be  thoroughly  furnished  unto  all  good 
works. 

Our  great  object  of  glorifj'ing  God  is,  however,  to  be 
mainly  achieved  by  the  winning  of  soids.  We  must  see 
souls  born  into  God.  If  we  do  not,  our  cry  should  be 
that  of  Kachel  "  Give  me  children,  or  I  die."  If  we  do 
not  win  souls,  we  should  mourn  as  the  husbandman  who 
sees  no  harvest,  as  the  fisherman  who  returns  to  his  cot- 
tage with  an  empty  net,  or  as  the  huntsman  who  has  in 
vain  roamed  over  hill  and  dale.     Ours  should  be  Isaiah's 


266  LECTURES  TO  MY  STUDENTS. 

language,  uttered  with  many  a  sigh  and  groan — "  Who 
hath  beheved  our  report  ?  and  to  whom  is  the  arm  of  the 
Lord  revealed  ?"  The  ambassadors  of  peace  should  not 
cease  to  weep  bitterly  until  sinners  weep  for  their  sins. 

If  we  intensely  desire  to  see  our  hearers  believe  on 
the  Lord  Jesus,  how  shall  we  act  in  order  to  be  used  of 
God  for  producing  such  a  result  ?  This  is  the  theme  of 
the  present  lecture. 

Since  conversion  is  a  divine  work,  we  must  take  care 
that  we  depend  entirely/  upon  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  look  to 
him  I  for  power  over  men's  minds.  Often  as  this  remark 
is  repeated,  I  fear  we  too  little  feel  its  force;  for  if  we 
were  more  truly  sensible  of  our  need  of  the  SjDirit  of  God, 
should  we  not  study  more  in  dependence  upon  his  teach- 
ing ?  Should  we  not  pray  more  importunately  to  be  an- 
ointed with  his  sacred  unction  ?  Should  we  not  in  preach- 
ing give  more  scoj^e  for  his  ojjeration  ?  Do  we  not  fail  in 
many  of  our  efiforts,  because  we  practically,  though  not 
doctrinally,  ignore  the  Holy  Ghost  ?  His  place  as  God 
is  on  the  throne,  and  in  all  our  euterj^rises  he  must  be 
first,  midst,  and  end:  we  are  instruments  in  his  hand,  and 
nothing  more. 

This  being  fully  admitted,  what  else  should  be  done  if 
we  hope  to  see  conversions  ?  Assuredly  tve  shoidd  he 
careful  to  preach  most  prominently  those  truths  ivhich  are 
likely  to  lead  to  this  end.  What  truths  are  those  ?  I 
answer,  we  should  first  and  foremost  preach  Christ  and 
him  crucified.  Where  Jesus  is  exalted  souls  are  attracted; 
— "  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up,  will  draw  all  men  unto  me. "  The 
preaching  of  the  cross  is  to  them  that  are  saved  the  wis- 
dom of  God  and  the  power  of  God.  The  Christian  minis- 
ter should  preach  all  the  truths  which  cluster  around  the 
person  and  work  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  hence  he  must 
declare  very  earnestly  and  pointedly  the  evil  of  sin,  which 


ON   CONVEKSION   AS    OUR   AIM.  2G7 

created  the  need  of  a  Saviour.  Let  him  show  that  sin  is 
a  breach  of  the  law,  that  it  necessitates  punishment,  and 
that  the  wrath  of  God  is  revealed  against  it.  Let  him 
never  treat  sin  as  though  it  were  a  trifle,  or  a  misfortune, 
but  let  him  set  it  forth  as  exceeding  sinful.  Let  him  go 
into  particulars,  not  superficially  glancing  at  evil  in  the 
gross,  but  mentioning  various  sins  in  detail,  especially 
those  most  current  at  the  time :  such  as  that  all-devouring 
hydra  of  drunkenness,  which  devastates  our  land;  lying, 
which  in  the  form  of  slander  abounds  on  all  sides;  and 
licentiousness,  which  must  be  mentioned  with  holy  deli- 
cacy, and  yet  needs  to  be  denounced  unsparingly.  We 
must  especially  reprove  those  evils  into  which  our  hearers 
have  fallen,  or  are  likely  to  fall.  Explain  the  ten  com- 
mandments and  obey  the  divine  injunction:  "  show  my 
people  their  transgressions,  and  the  house  of  Jacob  their 
sins."  Open  up  the  spirituality  of  the  law  as  our  Lord 
did,  and  show  how  it  is  broken  by  evil  thoughts,  intents, 
and  imaginations.  By  this  means  many  sinners  will  be 
pricked  in  their  hearts.  Old  Robbie  Flockhart  used  to 
say,  "  It  is  of  no  use  trying  to  sew  with  the  silken  thread 
of  the  gospel  unless  we  pierce  a  way  for  it  with  the  sharp 
needle  of  the  law."  The  law  goes  first,  like  the  needle, 
and  draws  the  gospel  thread  after  it:  therefore  preach 
concerning  sin,  righteousness,  and  judgment  to  come. 
Let  such  language  as  that  of  the  fifty-first  Psalm  be  often 
explained:  show  that  God  requireth  truth  in  the  inward 
parts,  and  that  purging  with  sacrificial  blood  is  absolutely' 
needful.  Aim  at  the  heart.  Probe  the  wound  and  touch 
the  very  quick  of  the  soul.  Sj^are  not  the  sterner 
themes,  for  men  must  be  wounded  before  they  can  be 
healed,  and  slain  before  they  can  be  made  alive.  No 
man  will  ever  put  on  the  robe  of  Christ's  righteousness 
till  he  is  stripped  of  his  fig  leaves,  nor  will  he  wash  in  the 


268  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

fount  of  mercy  till  lie  perceives  his  filthiness.  There- 
fore, my  brethren,  we  must  not  cease  to  declare  the  law 
its  demands,  its  threatenings,  and  the  sinner's  multiplied 
breaches  of  it. 

Teach  the  depravity  of  human  nature.  Show  men  that 
sin  is  not  an  accident,  but  the  genuine  outcome  of  their 
corrupt  hearts.  Preach  the  doctrine  of  the  natural 
depravity  of  man.  It  is  an  unfashionable  truth;  for 
nowadays  ministers  are  to  be  found  who  are  very  fine 
upon  "  the  dignity  of  human  nature."  The  "  lapsed 
state  of  man  " — that  is  the  phrase — is  sometimes  alluded 
to,  but  the  corruption  of  our  nature  and  kindred  themes 
are  carefully  avoided:  Ethioj)ians  are  informed  that  they 
may  whiten  their  skins,  and  it  is  hoped  that  leopards 
will  remove  their  spots.  Brethren,  you  will  not  fall  in- 
to this  delusion,  or,  if  you  do,  you  may  expect  few  con- 
versions. To  ))rophesy  smoothe  things,  and  to  extenu- 
ate the  evil  of  our  lost  estate,  is  not  the  way  to  lead  men 
to  Jesus. 

Brethren,  the  necessity  for  the  Holy  Ghost's  divine  opera- 
tions will  follow  as  a  matter  of  course  upon  the  former 
teaching,  for  dire  necessity  demands  divine  interposition. 
Men  must  be  told  that  they  are  dead,  and  that  only  the 
Holy  Spirit  can  quicken  them ;  that  the  Sjjirit  works  ac- 
cording to  his  own  good  jDleasure,  and  that  no  man  can 
claim  his  visitations  or  deserve  his  aid.  This  is 
thought  to  be  very  discouraging  teaching,  and  so  it  is, 
but  men  need  to  be  discouraged  when  they  are  seeking 
salvation  in  a  wrong  manner.  To  put  them  out  of  con- 
ceit of  their  own  abilities  is  a  great  help  toward  bring- 
ing them  to  look  out  of  self  to  another,  even  the  Lord 
Jesus.  The  doctrine  of  election  and  other  great  truths 
which  declare  salvation  to  be  all  of  grace,  and  to  be,  not 
the  right  of  the  creature,  but  the  gift  of  the  Sovereign 


ON   CONVERSION   AS   OUR   AIM.  2G9 

Lord,  are  all  calculated  to  hide  pride  from  man,  and  so 
to  prei:iare  him  to  receive  the  mercy  of  God. 

We  must  also  set  before  our  hearers  the  justice  of  God 
and  ilie  certainty  that  every  transgression  tvill  be  punished. 
Often  must  we 

*•  Before  tbem  place  in  dread  array, 
The  pomp  of  that  tremendous  day 
When  Christ  with  clouds  shall  come." 

Sound  in  their  ears  the  doctrine  of  the  second  advent, 
not  as  a  curiosity  of  prophecy,  but  as  a  selemn  practical 
fact.  It  is  idle  to  set  forth  our  Lord  in  all  the  tinkling 
bravery  of  an  earthly  kingdom,  after  the  manner  of 
brethren  who  believe  in  a  revived  Judaism;  we  need  to 
preach  the  Lord  as  coming  to  judge  the  world  in  right- 
eousness, to  summon  the  nations  to  his  bar,  and  to  sep- 
arate them  as  a  sheijlierd  divideth  the  sheep  from  the 
goats.  Paul  preached  of  righteousness,  temj^erance,  and 
judgment  to  come,  and  made  Felix  tremble:  these  themes 
are  equally  powerful  now.  We  rob  the  gospel  of  its  power 
if  we  leave  out  its  threatenings  of  punishment.  It  is  to 
be  feared  that  the  novel  opinions  upon  annihilation  and 
restoration  which  have  afflicted  the  church  in  these  last 
days  have  caused  many  ministers  to  be  slow  to  sj^eak 
concerning  the  last  judgment  and  its  issuees,  and  conse- 
quently the  terrors  of  the  Lord  have  had  small  influ- 
ence upon  either  preachers  or  hearers.  If  this  be  so  it 
cannot  be  too  much  regretted,  for  one  great  means  of 
conversion  is  thus  left  unused. 

Beloved  brethren,  we  must  be  most  of  all  clear  ujoon 
the  great  soul-saving  doctrine  of  the  atonement;  we  must 
preach  a  real  bona  fide  substitutionary  sacrifice,  and  pro- 
claim pardon  as  its  result.  Cloudy  views  as  *to  atoning 
blood  are  mischievous  to  the  last  degree;  souls  are  held 


270  LECTURES    TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

in  unnecessary  bondage,  and  saints  are  robbed  of  the  calm 
confidence  of  faith,  because  they  are  not  definitely  told 
that  "  God  hath  made  Him  to  be  sin  for  us,  who  knew 
no  sin,  that  we  might  be  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in 
Him."  We  must  preach  substitution  straightforwardly 
and  unmistakably,  for  if  any  doctrine  be  plainly  taught 
in  Scripture  it  is  this, — "  The  chastisement  of  our  peace 
was  upon  Him,  and  with  His  stripes  we  are  healed." 
"  He,  His  own  self,  bare  our  sins  in  His  own  body  on 
the  tree."  This  truth  gives  rest  to  the  conscience  by 
showing  how  God  can  be  just,  and  the  justifier  of  him 
that  believeth.  This  is  the  great  net  of  gospel  fisher- 
men: the  fish  are  drawn  or  driven  in  the  right  direction 
by  other  truths,  but  this  is  the  net  itself. 

If  men  are  to  be  saved,  we  must  in  the  plainest  terms 
■preixchjitstificationhi/faith,  as  the  method  by  which  the 
atonement  becomes  efi^ectual  in  the  soul's  exj)erience. 
If  we  are  saved  by  the  substitutionary  work  of  Christ,  no 
merit  of  ours  is  wanted,  and  aU  men  have  to  do  is  by  a 
simple  faith  to  accept  what  Christ  has  already  done.  It 
is  delightful  to  dwell  on  the  grand  truth  that  "  This  man, 
after  he  had  offered  one  sacrifice  for  sins  for  ever,  sat 
down  on  the  right  hand  of  God."  O  glorious  sight — the 
Christ  sitting  down  in  the  place  of  honor  because  his 
work  is  done.  Well  may  the  soul  rest  in  a  work  so 
evidently  complete. 

Justification  by  faith  must  never  be  obscured,  and  yet 
aU  are  not  clear  uj)on  it.  I  once  heard  a  sermon  upon 
"  They  that  sow  in  tears  shall  reap  in  joy,"  of  which  the 
English  was,  "  Be  good,  very  good,  and  though  you  will 
have  to  suffer  in  consequence,  God  will  reward  3'ou  in 
the  end."  The  preacher,  no  doubt,  believed  in  justifica- 
tion by  faith,  but  he  very  distinctly  jDreached  the  oppos- 
ite doctrine.     Many  do  this  when  addressing  children, 


ON   CONVERSION   AS    OUR   AIM.  271 

and  I  notice  tliat  they  generally  s^jeak  to  little  ones 
about  loving  Jesus,  and  not  upon  believing  him.  This 
must  leave  a  mischievous  impression  upon  youthful 
minds  and  take  them  off  from  the  true  way  of  peace. 

Preach  earnestly  the  love  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus,  and 
magnify  the  abounding  mercy  of  the  Lord;  but  always 
preach  it  in  connection  with  his  justice.  Do  not  extol 
the  single  attribute  of  love  in  the  method  too  generally 
followed,  but  regard  love  in  the  high  theological  sense, 
in  which,  like  a  golden  circle,  it  holds  within  itself  all  the 
divine  attributes :  for  God  were  not  love  if  he  were  not 
just,  and  did  not  hate  every  unholy  thing.  Never 
exalt  one  attribute  at  the  expense  of  another.  Let 
boundless  mercy  be  seen  in  calm  consistency  with 
stern  justice  and  unlimited  sovereignty.  The  true  char- 
acter of  God  is  fitted  to  awe,  impress,  and  humble  the 
sinner:  be  careful  not  to  misrepresent  your  Lord. 

All  these  truths  and  others  which  comj^lete  the  evan- 
gelical system  are  calculated  to  lead  men  to  faith;  there- 
fore make  them  the  staple  of  your  teaching. 

Secondly,  if  we  are  intensely  anxious  to  have  souls 
saved  we  must  not  only  preach  the  truths  which  are 
likely  to  lead  up  to  this  end,  but  we  must  use  modes  of 
handling  those  truths  tvhlch  are  lihely  to  conduce  thereto. 
Do  you  inquire,  what  are  they  ?  First,  you  must  do  a 
great  deal  by  way  of  instruction.  Sinners  are  not  saved 
in  darkness  hui  from  it;  "that  the  soul  be  without 
knowledge,  it  is  not  good."  Men  must  be  taught  con- 
cerning themselves,  their  sin,  and  their  fall;  their  Sa- 
viour, redemption,  regeneration,  and  so  on.  Many  awak- 
ened souls  would  gladly  accept  God's  way  of  salvation  if 
they  did  but  know  it;  they  are  akin  to  those  of  whom 
the  ajDostle  said,  "And  now,  brethren,  I  wot  that 
through  ignorance  ye  did  it."     If  you  will  instruct  them 


272     .  LECTURES   TO   MY  STUDENTS. 

God  will  save  them:  is  it  not  -written,  "the  entrance  of 
thy  word  giveth  light  "  ?  If  the  Holy  Spirit  blesses  your 
teaching,  they  will  see  how  wrong  they  have  been,  and 
they  will  be  led  to  repentance  and  faith.  I  do  not  be- 
lieve in  that  preaching  which  lies  mainly  in  shouting, 
"  Believe  !  believe  !  believe  !  "  In  common  justice  j^ou 
are  bound  to  tell  the  poor  people  what  they  are  to  be- 
Heve.  There  must  be  instruction,  otherwise  the  exhor- 
tation to  believe  is  manifestly  ridiculous,  and  must  in 
practice  be  abortive.  I  fear  that  some  of  our  orthodox 
brethren  have  been  prejudiced  against  the  free  invitations 
of  the  gospel  by  hearing  the  raw,  undigested  harangues  of 
revivalist  speakers  whose  heads  are  loosely  jDut  together. 
The  best  way  to  preach  sinners  to  Christ  is  to  preach 
-Christ  to  sinners,  y  Exhortations,  entreaties,  and  be- 
seechings,  if  not  accompanied  with  sound  instruction, 
are  like  firing  off  i:)owder  without  shot.  You  may  shout 
and  weej^,  and  plead,  but  you  cannot  lead  men  to  be- 
lieve what  they  have  not  heard,  nor  to  receive  a  truth 
which  has  never  been  set  before  them.  "  Because  the 
preacher  was  wise,  he  still  taught  the  peoi^le  knowl- 
edge." 

While  giving  instru.etion  it  is  wise  to  appeal  to  the  tin- 
dcrstandhig.  True  religion  is  as  logical  as  if  it  were  not 
emotional.  I  am  not  an  admirer  of  the  peculiar  views  of 
Mr.  Finney,  but  I  have  no  doubt  that  he  was  useful  to 
many;  and  his  power  lay  ni  his  use  of  clear  arguments. 
Many  who  knew  his  fame  were  greatlj^  disappointed  at 
first  hearing  him,  because  he  used  few  beauties  of  speech 
and  was  as  calm  and  dry  as  a  book  of  Euclid;  but  he  was 
exactly  adapted  to  a  certain  order  of  minds,  and  they 
were  convinced  and  convicted  by  his  forcible  reasoning. 
Should  not  persons  of  an  argumentative  cast  of  mind  be 
provided  for  ?     We  are  to  be  all  things  to  all  men,  and  to 


ON   COXVERSIOX   AS   OUR   AIM.  273 

these  meu  we  must  become  argumentative  and  pnsli  them 
into  a  corner  with  plain  deductions  and  necessary  infer- 
ences. Of  carnal  reasoning,  we  would  have  none  but  a 
fair,  honest  pondering,  considering,  judging,  and  argu- 
ing the  more  the  better. 

The  class  requiring  logical  argument  is  small  com- 
pared with  the  number  of  those  who  need  to  be  pleaded 
with,  by  way  of  emotional  persuasion.  They  require  not 
so  much  reasoning  as  heart-argument— which  is  logic  set 
on  tire.  You  must  argue  with  them  as  a  mother  pleads 
with  her  boy  that  he  will  not  grieve  her,  or  as  a  fond 
sister  entreats  a  brother  to  return  to  their  father's  home 
and  seek  reconciliation:  argument  must  be  quickened 
into  persuasion  by  the  living  warmth  of  love.  Cold  logic 
has  its  force,  but  when  made  red  hot  Avith  afiectiou  the 
power  of  tender  argument  is  inconceivable.  The  power 
which  one  mind  can  gain  over  others  is  enormous,  but  it 
is  often  best  developed  when  the  leading  mindhas'ceased 
to  have  power  over  itself.  When  passionate  zeal  lias  car- 
ried the  man  himself  away  his  speech  becomes  an  irresist- 
ible torient,  sweeping  aU  before  it.  A  man  known  to 
be  godly  and  devout,  and  felt  to  be  large-hearted  and 
self-sacrificing,  has  a  power  in  his  very  person,  and  his 
advice  and  recommendation  carry  weight  because  of  his 
character;  but  when  he  comes  to  plead  and  to  persuade, 
even  to  tears,  his  influence  is  wonderful,  and  God  the 
Holy  Spirit  yokes  it  into  his  service.  Brethren,  we  must 
plead.  Entreaties  and  beseechings  must  blend  with  our 
instructions.  Any  and  every  appeal  which  will  reach 
the  conscience  and  move  men  to  fiy  to  Jesus  we  must 
perpetually  employ,  if  by  any  means  we  may  save  some. 
I  have  sometimes  heard  ministers  blamed  for  speaking  of 
themselves  when  they  aro  pleading,  but  the  censure  nled 
not  be  much  regarded  while  we  have  such  a  precedent 


274  LECTURES    TO    MY    STUDENTS. 

as  the  example  of  Paul.  To  a  congregation  who  love 
you  it  is  quite  allowable  to  mention  your  grief  that  many 
of  them  are  unsaved,  and  3'our  vehement  desire,  and  in- 
cessant prayer  for  their  conversion.  You  are  doing 
right  when  you  mention  your  own  experience  of  the 
goodness  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  plead  with  men  to 
come  and  taste  the  same.  We  must  not  be  abstractions 
or  mere  officials  to  our  peojjle,  but  we  must  plead  with 
them  as  real  flesh  and  blood,  if  we  would  see  them 
converted.  When  you  can  quote  yourself  as  a  living  in- 
stance of  what  grace  has  done,  the  plea  is  too  powerful  to 
be  withheld  through  fear  of  being  charged  with  egotism. 
Sometimes,  too,  we  must  change  ovir  tone.  Instead  of 
instructing,  reasoning,  and  persuading,  we  must  come  to 
threatening,  and  declare  the  wrath  of  God  upon  impeni- 
tent souls.  We  must  lift  the  curtain  and  let  them  see 
the  future.  Show  them  their  danger,  and  warn  them  to 
escape  from  the  wrath  to  come.  This  done,  we  must  re- 
turn to  invitation,  and  set  before  the  awakened  mind  the 
rich  provisions  of  infinite  grace  which  are  freely  presented 
to  the  sons  of  men.  In  our  Master's  name  we  must  give 
the  invitation,  crying,  "  Whosoever  will,  let  him  take  the 
water  of  life  freely."  Do  not  be  deterred  from  this,  my 
brethren,  by  those  ultra-Calvinistic  theologians  who  say 
''You  ma}^  instruct  and  warn  the  ungodly,  but  you  must 
not  invite  or  entreat  them."  And  why  not?  "Because 
they  are  dead  sinners,  and  it  is  therefore  absurd  to  invite 
them,  since  they  cannot  come."  Wherefore  then  may  we 
warn  or  instruct  them  ?  The  argument  is  so  strong,  if 
it  be  strong,  at  all,  that  it  sweeps  away  all  modes  of  ap- 
peal to  sinners,  and  they  alone  are  logical  who,  after  they 
have  preached  to  the  saints,  sit  down  and  say,  "  The  elec- 
tion hath  obtained  it,  and  the  rest  were  blinded."  On 
what  ground  are  we  to  address  the  ungodly  at  aU?    If 


ON    CONVERSION   AS   OUR   AIM.  275 

we  are  only  to  bid  tliem  do  such  tilings  as  tliey  are  capa- 
ble of  doiug  witlntut  the  Spirit  of  God,  we  are  reduced 
to  mere  moralists.  If  it  be  absurd  to  bid  the  dead  sin- 
ner believe  and  live,  it  is  equally  vain  to  bid  him  consider 
his  state,  and  reflect  upon  his  future  doom.  Indeed,  it 
would  be  idle  altogether  were  it  not  that  true  preaching 
is  an  act  of  faith,  and  is  owned  by  the  Holy  Spirit  as  the 
means  of  working  spiritual  miracles.  If  we  were  by  our- 
selves, and  did  not  expect  divine  interpositions,  we 
should  be  wise  to  keep  within  the  bounds  of  reason,  and 
persuade  men  to  do  only  what  we  see  in  them  the  ability 
to  do.  We  should  then  bid  the  living  live,  urge  the 
seeing  to  see  and  persuade  the  wilHng  to  will.  The  task 
would  be  so  easy  that  it  might  even  seem  to  be  superflu- 
ous; certainl}'  no  special  call  of  the  Holy  Ghost  would  be 
needed  for  so  very  simple  an  undertaking.  But,  breth- 
ren, where  is  the  mighty  power  and  the  victory  of  faith  if 
our  ministry  is  this  and  nothing  more  ?  Who  among  the 
sons  of  men  would  think  it  a  great  vocation  to  be  sent 
into  a  synagogue  to  sa}-  to  a  perfectly  vigorous  man, 
"Rise  up  and  walk,"  or  to  the  possessor  of  sound  limbs, 
"Stretch  out  thine  hand."  He  is  a  poor  Ezekiel  whose 
greatest  achievement  is  to  cry,  "Ye  living  souls,  live." 

Let  the  two  methods  be  set  side  by  side  as  to  practical 
result,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  those  who  never  exhort 
sinners  are  seldom  winners  of  souls  to  any  great  extent, 
but  they  maintain  their  churches  by  converts  fi-om  other 
systems.  I  have  even  heard  them  say,  "  Oh,  yes,  the 
Methodists  and  Eevivalists  are  beating  the  hedges,  but 
we  shall  catch  many  of  the  birds."  If  I  harbored  such  a 
mean  thought  I  should  be  ashamed  to  exj)ress  it.  A  sys- 
tem which  cannot  touch  the  outside  world,  but  must 
leave  arousing  and  converting  work  to  others,  whom  it 
judges  to  be  unsound,  writes  its  own  condemnation. 


276  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

Again,  brethren,  if  you  wisli  to  see  souls  saved,  we  must 
be  wise  as  to  the  times  when  we  address  the  unconverted. 
Very  Httle  common  sense  is  spent  over  this  matter.  Un- 
der certain  ministries  there  is  a  set  time  for  speaking  to 
sinners,  and  this  comes  as  reguhirly  as  the  hour  of  noon. 
A  few  crumbs  of  the  feast  are  thrown  to  the  dogs  under 
the  table  at  the  close  of  the  discourse,  and  they  treat 
your  crumbs  as  you  treat  them,  namely,  with  courteous 
indifference.  Why  should  the  warning  word  be  always 
at  the  hinder  end  of  the  discourse  when  hearers  are 
most  likely  to  be  wear}-  ?  Why  give  men  notice  to  buckle 
on  their  harness  so  as  to  be  prepared  to  rejael  our  attack  ? 
AVhen  their  interest  is  excited,  and  they  are  least  ujDon 
the  defensive,  then  let  fly  a  shaft  at  the  careless,  and  it 
will  frequently  be  more  effectual  than  a  whole  flight  of 
arrows  shot  against  them  at  a  time  when  they  are  thor- 
oughly encased  in  armor  of  proof.  Surprise  is  a  great 
element  in  gaining  attention  and  fixing  a  remark  upon 
the  memory,  and  times  for  addressing  the  careless 
should  be  chosen  with  an  eye  to  that  fact.  It  may  be 
very  well  as  a  rule  to  seei  the  edification  of  the  saints  in 
the  morning  discourse,  but  it  would  be  wise  to  vary  it. 
and  let  the  unconverted  sometimes  have  the  chief  labor 
of  your  preparation  and  the  best  service  of  the  day. 

Do  not  close  a  single  sermon  without  addressing  the 
ungodly,  but  at  the  same  time  set  yourself  seasons  for  a 
determined  and  continuous  assault  upon  tliem,  and  pro- 
ceed with  all  your  soiil  to  the  conflict.  On  such  occa- 
sions aim  distinctly  at  immediate  conversions;  labor  to 
remove  prejudices,  to  resolve  doid)ts,  to  conquer  objec- 
tions, and  to  drive  the  sinner  out  of  his  hiding-places  at 
once.  Summon  the  church-members  to  special  prayer, 
beseech  them  to  speak  personally  bntli  with  the  con- 
cerned and  the  unconcerned,  and  be  yourself  doubly  upon 


ON   CONVERSTON   AS   OUR   AIM.  277 

the  watch  to  address  individuals.  "We  have  found  that 
our  Februar}'  meetings  at  the  Tabernacle  have  yielded 
remarkable  results:  the  whole  month  being  dedicated  to 
special  effort.  Winter  is  usually  the  preacher's  harvest, 
because  the  people  can  come  together  better  in  the  long 
evenings,  and  are  debarred  from  out-of-door  exercises 
and  amusements.  Be  well  prepared  for  the  appropriate 
season  when  "kings  go  forth  to  battle." 

Among  the  important  elements  in  the  promotion  of  conver- 
sion are  your  own  tone,  temper,  and  spirit  in  preaching.  If 
you  preach  the  truth  in  a  dull,  monotonous  style,  God 
may  bless  it,  but  in  all  probability  he  will  not;  at  any 
rate  the  tendency  of  such  a  style  is  not  to  promote  atten- 
tion, but  to  hinder  it.  It  is  not  often  that  sinners  are 
awakened  by  ministers  who  are  themselves  asleep.  A 
hard,  unfeeling  mode  of  speech  is  also  to  be  avoided; 
want  of  tenderness  is  a  sad  lack,  and  repels  rather  than 
attracts.  The  spirit  of  Elijah  may  startle,  and  where  it 
is  exceedingly  intense  it  may  go  far  to  prepare  for  the 
reception  of  the  gospel ;  but  for  actual  conversion  more 
of  John  is  needed, — love  is  the  winning  force.  We  must 
love  men  to  Jesus.  Great  liearts  are  the  main  qualifica- 
tions for  great  preachers,  and  we  must  cultivate  our  af- 
fections to  that  end.  At  the  same  time  our  manner  must 
not  degenerate  into  the  soft  and  saccharine  cant  which 
some  men  affect  who  are  for  ever  (tearing  everybody,  and 
fawning  upon  people  as  if  they  hoped  to  soft-sawder 
them  into  godliness.  Manly  persons  are  disgusted,  and 
suspect  hypocrisy  when  they  hear  a  preacher  talking 
molasses.  Let  us  be  bold  and  outspoken,  and  never  ad- 
dress our  hearers  as  if  we  were  asking  a  favor  of  them, 
or  as  if  they  would  oblige  the  Redeemer  by  allowing  him 
to  save  them.  We  are  bound  to  be  lowh",  but  our  office 
as  ambassadors  should  prevent  our  being  servile. 


278  LECTUEES    TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

Happy  shall  we  be  if  we  preacli  believiBgly,  always  ex- 
pecting the  Lord  to  bless  his  own  word.  This  will  give 
us  a  quiet  confidence  which  will  forbid  petulance,  rash- 
ness, and  weariness.  If  we  ourselves  doubt  the  power 
of  the  gospel,  how  can  we  preach  it  with  authority  ? 
Feel  that  you  are  a  favored  man  in  being  allowed  to  pro- 
claim the  good  news,  and  rejoice  that  your  mission  is 
fraught  with  eternal  benefit  to  those  before  you.  Let 
the  people  see  how  glad  and  confident  the  gospel  has 
made  you,  and  it  will  go  far  to  make  them  long  to  par- 
take in  its  blessed  influences. 

Preach  very  solemnly,  for  it  is  a  weighty  business,  but 
let  your  matter  be  lively  and  pleasing,  for  this  will  pre- 
vent solemnity  from  souring  into  dreariness.  Be  so 
thoroughly  solemn  that  all  your  faculties  are  aroused 
and  consecrated,  and  then  a  dash  of  humor  will  only  add 
intenser  gravity  to  the  discourse,  even  as  a  flash  of  light- 
ning makes  midnight  darkness  all  the  more  impressive. 
Preach  to  one  point,  concentrating  all  your  energies 
uj)on  the  object  aimed  at.  There  must  be  no  riding  of 
hobbies,  no  introduction  of  elegancies  of  speech,  no  sus- 
picion of  personal  display,  or  you  will  fail.  Sinners  are 
quick-witted  people,  and  soon  detect  even  the  smallest 
effort  to  glorify  self.  Forego  everything  for  the  sake  of 
those  you  long  to  save.  Be  a  fool  for  Christ's  sake  if 
this  will  win  them,  or  be  a  scholar,  if  that  will  be  more 
likely  to  imjiress  them.  Spare  neither  labor  in  the  study, 
prayer  in  the  closet,  nor  zeal  in  the  pulpit.  If  men  do 
not  judge  their  souls  to  be  worth  a  thought,  compel  them 
to  see  that  their  minister  is  of  a  very  different  opinion. 

Mean  conversions,  expect  them,  and  prepare  for  them. 
Resolve  that  your  hearers  shall  either  yield  to  your  Lord 
or  be  without  excuse,  and  that  this  shall  be  the  imme- 
diate result  of  the  sermon  now  in  hand.     Do  not  let  the 


ON    CONVERSION   AS    OUK   AIM.  279 

Christians  around  you  wonder  when  souls  are  saved,  but 
urge  them  to  beHeve  in  the  undiminished  power  of  the 
glad  tidings,  and  teach  them  to  marvel  if  no  saving  result 
follows  the  delivery  of  the  testimony  of  Jesus.  Do  not 
permit  sinners  to  hear  sermons  as  a  matter  of  course,  or 
allow  them  to  play  with  the  edged  tools  of  Scripture  as 
if  they  were  mere  toys;  but  again  and  again  remind  them 
that  every  true  gospel  sermon  leaves  them  worse  if  it 
does  not  make  them  better.  Their  unbelief  is  a  daily, 
hourly  sin;  never  let  them  infer  from  your  teaching  that 
they  are  to  be  pitied  for  continuing  to  make  God  a  liar 
by  rejecting  his  Son. 

Impressed  with  a  sense  of  their  danger,  give  the  un- 
godly no  rest  in  their  sins;  knock  again  and  again  at  the 
door  of  their  hearts,  and  knock  as  for  life  and  death. 
Your  solicitude,  your  earnestne'^'^  "'our  anxiety,  your 
travailing  in  birth  for  them  God  win  oless  to  their  arous- 
ing. God  works  mightily  by  this  instrumentality.  But 
our  agony  for  souls  mu::'t  be  real  and  not  feigned,  and 
therefore  our  hearts  must  be  wrought  into  true  sympathy 
with  God.  Low  piety  means  little  spiritual  power.  Ex- 
tremely pointed  addresses  may  be  delivered  by  men 
whose  hearts  are  out  of  order  with  the  Lord,  but  their 
result  must  be  small.  There  is  a  something  in  the  very 
tone  of  the  man  who  has  been  with  Jesus  which  has 
more  power  to  touch  the  heart  than  the  most  perfect  or- 
atory: remember  this  and  maintain  an  unbroken  walk 
with  God.  You  will  need  much  night-work  in  secret  if 
you  are  to  gather  many  of  your  Lord's  lost  sheej).  Only 
by  prayer  and  fasting  can  you  gain  power  to  cast  out  the 
worst  of  devils.  Let  men  say  what  they  will  about  sov- 
ereignty, God  connects  special  success  with  special  states 
of  heart,  and  if  these  are  lacking  he  will  not  do  many 
mighty  works. 


280  LECTURES    TO    TMY   STUDENTS. 

In  addition  to  earnest  preaching  it  tvill  he  ivise  to  use  otJier 
means.  If  you  wisli  to  see  results  from  your  sermons  you 
must  be  accessible  to  inquirers.  A  meeting  after  every 
service  may  not  be  desirable,  but  frequent  opportunities 
for  coming  into  direct  contact  with  your  people  should 
be  sought  after,  and  by  some  means  created.  It  is 
shocking  to  think  that  there  are  ministers  who  have  no 
method  whatever  for  meeting  the  anxious,  and  if  they  do 
see  here  and  there  one,  it  is  because  of  the  courage  of 
the  seeker,  and  not  because  of  the  earnestness  of  the 
l^astor.  From  the  very  first  you  should  appoint  frequent 
and  regular  seasons  for  seeing  all  who  are  seeking  after 
Christ,  and  you  should  continually  invite  such  to  come 
and  speak  with  you.  In  addition  to  this,  hold  numerous 
inquirers'  meetings,  at  which  the  addresses  shall  be  all 
intended  to  assist  the  troubled  and  guide  the  perplexed, 
and  with  these  intermingle  fervent  2:)rayers  for  the  indi- 
viduals present,  and  short  testimonies  from  recent  con- 
verts and  others.  As  an  open  confession  of  Christ  is  con- 
tinually mentioned  in  connection  with  saving  faith,  it  is 
your  \v^isdom  to  make  it  easy  for  believers  who  are  as  yet 
following  Jesus  by  night  to  come  forward  and  avow  their 
allegiance  to  him.  There  must  be  no  persuading  to 
make  a  profession,  but  there  should  be  every  opportunity 
for  so  doing,  and  no  stumbling-block  placed  in  the  way 
of  hopeful  minds.  As  for  those  who  are  not  so  far  ad- 
vanced as  to  warrant  any  thought  of  baptism,  you  may 
be  of  the  utmost  benefit  to  them  by  personal  intercourse, 
and  therefore  you  should  seek  it.  Doubts  may  be 
cleared  away,  errors  rectified,  and  terrors  dispelled  by  a 
few  moments'  conversation;  I  have  known  instances  in 
■crhicli  a  life-long  misery  has  been  ended  by  a  simple  ex- 
planation which  might  have  been  given  years  before. 
Seek  out  the  wandering  sheep  one  by  one,  and  when  you 


ON   COXVEKSION   AS   OUR   AIM.  281 

find  all  your  thoughts  needed  for  a  single  individual,  do 
not  grudge  your  labor,  for  your  Lord  in  his  parable  rep- 
resents the  good  shepherd  as  bringing  home  his  lost 
sheep,  not  in  a  flock,  but  one  at  a  time  ujpon  his 
shoulders,  and  rejoicing  so  to  do. 

With  all  that  you  can  do  youi*  desires  will  not  be  ful- 
filled, for  soul-winning  is  a  pursuit  which  grows  upon  a 
man;  the  more  he  is  rewarded  with  conversions  the  more 
eager  he  becomes  to  see  greater  numbers  born  unto  God. 
Hence  you  will  soon  discover  that  you  need  help  if  many 
are  to  he  brought  in.  The  net  soon  becomes  too  heavy  for 
one  pair  of  hands  to  drag  to  shore  when  it  is  filled  with 
fishes;  and  your  fellow-helpers  must  be  beckoned  to  your 
assistance.  Great  thiags  are  done  by  the  Hol}^  SjDirit 
when  a  whole  church  is  aroused  to  sacred  energy:  then 
there  are  hundreds  of  testimonies  instead  of  one,  and 
these  strengthen  each  other;  then  advocates  for  Christ 
succeed  each  other  and  work  into  each  other's  hands 
while  supplication  ascends  to  heaven  with  the  force  of 
united  imj)ortunity ;  thus  sinners  are  encompassed  with  a 
cordon  of  earnest  entreaties,  and  heaven  itself  is  called 
into  the  field.  It  would  seem  hard  in  some  congregations 
for  a  sinner  to  be  saved,  for  whatever  good  he  may 
receive  from  the  pulpit  is  frozen  out  of  him  by  the  arctic 
atmosphere  with  which  he  is  surrounded:  and  on  the 
other  hand  some  churches  make  it  hard  for  men  to  remain 
unconverted,  for  with  holy  zeal  they  persecute  the  care- 
less into  anxiety.  It  should  be  our  ambition,  in  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  work  the  entire  church  into 
a  fine  missionary  condition,  to  make  it  like  a  Leyden  jar 
charged  to  the  full  with  divine  electricity,  so  that  what- 
ever comes  into  contact  with  it  shall  feel  its  power. 
What -can  one  man  do  alone?  What  can  he  not  do  with 
an  army  of  enthusiasts  around  him  ?    Contemplate  at  the 


282  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

outset  the  possibility  of  having  a  church  of  soul -winners. 
Do  not  succumb  to  the  usual  idea  that  we  can  only  gather 
a  few  useful  workers,  and  that  the  rest  of  the  community 
must  inevitably  be  a  dead  weight:  it  may  possibly  so  hap- 
pen; but  do  riot  set  out  with  that  notion  or  it  will  be 
verified.  The  usual  need  not  be  the  universal;  better 
things  are  possible  than  anything  yet  attained;  set  your 
aim  high  and  spare  no  effort  to  reach  it.  Labor  to 
gather  a  church  alive  for  Jesus,  every  member  energetic 
to  the  fvdl,  and  the  whole  in  incessant  activity  for  the 
salvation  of  men.  To  this  end  there  must  be  the  best  of 
preaching  to  feed  the  host  into  strength,  continual  prayer 
to  bring  down  the  power  from  on  high,  and  the  most 
heroic  example  on  your  own  part  to  fire  their  zeal:  then 
under  the  divine  blessing  a  common-sense  management 
of  the  entire  force  cannot  fail  to  produce  the  most  desir- 
able issues.  Who  among  you  can  grasp  this  idea  and 
embody  it  in  actual  fact  ? 

To  call  in  another  brother  every  now  and  then  to  take 
the  lead  in  evangelistic  services  will  be  found  ver}^  wise 
and  useful;  for  there  are  some  fish  that  never  will  be 
taken  in  your  net,  but  mil  surely  fall  to  the  lot  of  another 
fisherman.  Fresh  voices  penetrate  where  the  accustomed 
sound  has  lost  effect,  and  they  tend  also  to  beget  a 
deeper  interest  in  those  already  attentive.  Sound  and 
prudent  evangelists  may  lend  help  even  to  the  most 
efficient  pastor,  and  gather  in  fruit  which  he  has  failed  to 
reach ;  at  any  rate  it  makes  a  break  in  the  continuity  of 
ordinarv  services,  and  renders  them  less  likely  to  become 
monotonous.  Never  suffer  jealousy  to  hinder  you  in  this. 
Suppose  another  lamp  should  outshine  yours,  what  will 
it  matter  so  long  as  it  brings  light  to  those  whose  welfare 
you  are  seeking?  Say  with  Moses,  "Would  God  all  the 
Lord's  servants  were  prophets. "     He  who  is  free  from 


ON   CONVERSION    AS   OUR   AIM.  283 

selfish  jealousy  will  fiud  that  no  occasion  will  suggest  it; 
liis  people  may  be  well  aware  that  theii'  pastor  is  excelled 
by  others  in  talent,  but  they  will  be  ready  to  assert  that 
he  is  surpassed  by  none  in  love  to  their  souls.  It  is  not 
needful  for  a  loving  son  to  believe  that  his  father  is  the 
most  learned  man  in  the  parish ;  he  loves  him  for  his  own 
sake,  and  not  because  he  is  sui^erior  to  others.  Call  in 
every  now  and  then  a  warm-hearted  neighbor,  utilize  the 
talent  in  the  church  itself,  and  procure  the  services  of 
some  eminent  soul-winner,  and  this  may,  in  God's  hands, 
break  up  the  hard  soil  for  you,  and  bring  you  brighter 
days. 

In  fine,  beloved  brethren,  by  any  means,  by  all  means, 
labor  to  glorify  God  by  conversions,  and  rest  not  till 
3'our  heart's  desire  is  fulfilled. 


Date  Due 


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1    1012  01030  2554 


